Dark Intent
by Swan's Catastrophe
Summary: Chloe has agreed to live with the two very handsome vampire brothers, Gabriel and Nathaniel Felling. But not all is as it seems in the Felling castle, and secrets threaten to destroy everything, if the other dangers don't destroy the brothers first.
1. Chapter 1

**Old story that I never finished - This first chapter is a little boring, but it gets better, I promise. Rated for future content. Review if you like it and I'll post the next chapter.**

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Chloe lounged gracefully on the branch of a tree. Being part human and part pixie had its perks every now and then. Chloe had a special bond with the trees in this region, sometimes she could even hear them whispering to her. Of course, she was never quite sure if she was going insane from being alone too long or if it really was the trees.

But the dense Austrian forest was quiet now. And growing more and more dark as the minutes waned on. Within two minutes the forest had gone from normal night dark -to- I can't see an inch in front of me- dark.

Chloe chewed on an acorn nervously, as a piercing wind blew through the trees. The small girl shivered intensely and wished she had a jacket.

"_I'm going to freeze to death out here" _Chloe thought as she curled into a ball.

A small sound to her left had the girl turning her gaze to the town. Chloe hopped from the tree easily and peered over the cliff that overlooked the small village.

What she saw she almost couldn't comprehend.

Men, women, and children were running frantically and aimlessly like frightened ants. Giant beasts were jumping out from the shadows and devouring the townspeople. Many of the humans had taken to the forest for shelter and protection, and some were climbing the cliff that Chloe stood upon.

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

What was going on? I couldn't see any reason why the giant wolves would choose to attack the village. A wolf had made its way up to the cliff I was on; the beast now stood twenty feet away from me. I pulled my invisibility glamour on before dashing off into the trees.

Bad idea.

The wolf must have heard me because soon it was tackling me to the ground and clawing at my back.

I must've been pretty scared, because the trees started to help me. Soon they were hurling branches and insects at the wolf. The wolf had to pause to sneeze out an ant that had climbed up its nose and I took the chance to run again.

_Not that way, go right_ a tree whispered.

I followed its directions and tried to ignore the blood leaking down my back.

_Turn left up here._

I weaved left. The trees led me out of the forest, but other than that, I had no idea where I was.

And then I saw it.

A giant baroque castle stood in all its beautiful glory 15 acres away. I stood at its wrought iron gates, and could see the large expanse of the front courtyard and the castle itself.

Everyone in town said that the Felling castle had been abandoned years ago. It looked very much lived in now…

I didn't dare touch the iron gates, instead I slumped on the ground before falling asleep.

I awoke to find I was no longer on the ground. The scent of earth no longer surrounded me, instead, it was the voices of two men; mumbling things I couldn't hear.

"We do _not_ mumble" The deeper of the voices growled.

I looked around to see the two most beautiful men I had ever seen.

I stared up at them with wide blue eyes.

"I'm Gabriel. It's a pleasure to meet you" said the deeper voiced man.

He was beautiful. God-like. He had wavy black hair that reached his high cheekbones, a smooth nose, angular jaw, strange green eyes that almost looked gold and perfect, sensual lips.

Gabriel smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"An angular jaw- really?" He asked while rubbing both hands against his face.

My mouth bobbed open.

"You know, I never paid much attention to my lips but sensual isn't the word I'd have used to describe them. I do like the god-like part-"

"Gabriel" the other man interrupted "Stop"

This "man" was more boyish looking than Gabriel, but still resembled him in a way that they both had skin the color of alabaster and very angular faces. The boy was also shorter than Gabriel by quite a few inches, but wasn't any less beautiful.

His hair was light brown and hung in loose curls around his forehead. His eyes were a deep amber and he had a lean build to go with his compact size.

"I'm Nathaniel. I saw you laying outside last night. I brought you inside, dressed your wound, and washed you off" He said with an impish smile. I sat up and looked around.

"Where is inside exactly?" I asked.

* * *

_**Third person**_

The mix of surprise and terror on the girl's face almost amused Gabriel. Almost.

Gabriel watched the girl intently. She wasn't his type. He preferred his women tall, bleach-blonde, and big breasted. This tiny pixie was the exact opposite of those things.

There was just something about the way her long, wavy, gold-woven hair brushed against her small shoulders. And how her large, warm blue eyes reminded him of a doe in the headlights, and the way her perfect round face-

What was he saying?

Gabriel felt a surge of anger coarse through him.

He doesn't think like this. Gabriel Felling doesn't care about women. Especially _human_ women. He scowled out the window, attempting to put on the cold, unreadable, mask his brother had mastered so many years ago, all the while listening meticulously to each word that left the girl's mouth…

"I'm in the Felling castle?" Chloe said, disbelievingly.

"Erm, yes. I didn't mention lastnames before- I'm Nathaniel Felling, you already know Gabriel, but I didn't catch your name…" Nathaniel continued.

"I'm Chloe-"

"Alcott, your mother was a pixie, your father was a human. Both died in a fire when you were ten. You've been traveling from forest to forest in search of "meaning" ever since, blah, blah, blah. We already know, Nathaniel is just being polite" Gabriel interrupted. He felt guilty when he saw tears brimming in her eyes but pushed that irrelevant emotion aside.

Chloe stood up, she took a shocked glance down at the silk chemise that didn't even reach her knees. She tried to shake the image of her being naked and unconscious while one of the guys bathed and dressed her.

"I'm just going to go. Thank-you for everything, but really, I should be leaving" Chloe said quietly.

"Going where? Where could you be going that would make you want to leave a place that you could have anything you want?" Gabriel asked

"Well, for your information, I tend to butt-heads with sarcastic, self-absorbed, assholes like yourself, and _that _is where I'm going. Away from you" Chloe replied, taking special care not to look him in the eyes. Or the face for that matter.

"Ouch. Well, she's got the body and maturity of a sixteen year old- I say we keep her" Gabriel chuckled.

"Keep _**me?**_" Chloe shouted "I'm not some sort of- of- pet! I'm a person asshole!"

Gabriel mock cried and laughed at Chloe.

"You're a dick!" She stammered.

"Ooh, yeah. Talk dirty to me, baby" Gabriel growled a few octaves lower than normal.

"Gabriel, that is enough" Nathaniel hissed "Now go sit on the other side of the room and shut-up, so I can explain things to Chloe."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, looking annoyed that Nathaniel had ruined his fun, but did as his brother directed.

Chloe turned back to Nathaniel with skeptical eyes.

"Explain what things?" She asked.

Nathaniel motioned for Chloe to sit down on the bed while he pulled up a chair.

"My brother and I have been around for a _very _long time. And we've grown weary of each others company. We would like for you to be…a companion of sorts and stay here…with us" Nathaniel said in a serene voice.

Chloe cast a dark glance at Gabriel. She had grown weary of that boy's company in only a few minutes- she couldn't imagine what living with him would be like. She sucked in her lower lip and frowned at Nathaniel.

"I don't understand. Why me?"

"Circumstance, mostly" drawled Gabriel from the corner, unable to keep quiet. Nathaniel glared at his brother. "You don't smell as appetizing as humans do. Nate and I are able to control our hunger around you- which means you're free to roam the castle freely without having to fear that vampires will rip your throat out all the time" He smirked.

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

My eyebrows raised.

"You two are vampires?" I asked quietly. The boys nodded.

"But I don't smell as good to you as humans do?" I repeated in the same quiet voice.

"You smell better than humans do, actually. You just don't smell like something to eat…for the most part" Gabriel clarified "More like a bouquet of- Gabriel paused to sniff the air- jasmine, gardenias, freesias, and forget-me-nots. With a hint of lavender- but that could be the lavender farm we have out back.

I brightened. "Lavender farm?"

Nathaniel's lips twitched up.

"Yes, it's quite large actually. A little over a mile wide and a mile long"

I swooned at the thought of reading a nice book amongst the strong smell of lavender in the warm spring air.

"So you'll stay?" Gabriel asked. I bit my lip unsurely.

It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go. And living in a castle was a pretty sweet deal.

I sighed breathlessly "I guess…I'll stay"

Nathaniel rose gracefully with an angelic smile.

"excellent. I'll have the 'house help' make up your room" Nathaniel said as he walked to the door. He turned back to Gabriel with a solemn stare. "Make sure to give her a tour…and go over the rules"

Gabriel nodded and smiled down at me once Nathaniel left.

"Really, this bedroom is fine for me. I don't-"

"Hush" Gabriel commanded softly "You live here now. You get a room that has a bathroom" he said while offering his arm.

"Now come on, I promised you a tour"

I snorted as I intertwined my arm in Gabriel's and he lead me into the hall.

"Oh my god" I breathed as I looked around.

Even the hallways were beautiful. The ceiling was arched and had beautiful murals of German and Austrian folklore painted on them. Brilliant candle chandeliers hung from the marvelous ceiling every other two feet, while windows that made up the entire wall off to one side showed off a great view of the front courtyard. On the other side, the wall was made completely of mirrors, that reflected the magnificent view.

"Impressed?" Gabriel chuckled

I nodded.

Gabriel continued to pull me along as he told me about the castle.

"My great, great, great, grandfather had this place built in the very early thirteenth century. Then, it was passed down- and now belongs to us. There are around 2,000 windows, 700 rooms, 1,250 fireplaces, 67 staircases, 1,200 acres of courtyard. _And,_ it has an opera house, 5 indoor pools, 3 grand ballrooms, an arms hall, a labryrinth out back, a dungeon, and all in all it's around 551,218 square feet of living space. So you could get lost quite easily" Gabriel smirked.

I pursed my lips, and swallowed. 67 staircases?

"yes, it's quite confusing, which brings me to rule number 1" Gabriel said as he stopped to face me.

"Listen carefully, Chloe. These rules are crucial if you wish to keep living here. I'll admit most of the rules are pretty mediocre but rule number one must never be breached- or you will suffer a slow and painful death…or quick, I suppose. It all depends on his mood at the time" Gabriel must have heard the question marks in my thoughts because he continued on quickly, pulling me back into a walking pace.

"Rule 1: never, _never_, under any circumstances, enter the east wing of the castle. Our other brother, Damon resides there. He isn't like us- Nathaniel and I- he has chosen to live on only his instincts. He keeps all of the doors to the east wing bolted and locked. There is no electricity on that side either. It's always kept dark, but, if you somehow find a way to get in, it will be the last thing you ever do. Damon will kill you- he doesn't care what you smell like. Understand?"

I nodded meekly and Gabriel smiled gloriously at me. I waited for him to continue with the other rules but he just shrugged and chuckled lightly.

"That's all I got"

I snickered softly and felt an electric jolt when Gabriel's hand curled around mine.

"Alright, lets start this tour up, I'll make you some lunch, and then I'll show you the backyard. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah" I breathed "It sounds great"

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**Don't forget to review! A few words- means alot!**


	2. Chapter 2

"So does iron hurt you at all?" Gabriel asked from the kitchen door as he appeared with a tray of food. I was slumped tiredly at one of the dining room chairs. It had taken three hours to tour and memorize the entire castle- excluding the east wing, of which I was grateful. If I did anymore walking today- I wouldn't have feet left.

"Uhm it's fine in the form of steel, or dishes. I haven't been brave enough to attempt touching iron from concentrate" I replied

He disappeared back into the kitchen and came back with an actual fork and tossed it to me.

"Just checkin'" He mumbled, sitting beside me and watching me eat with an amused expression.

"Can you and Nathaniel eat human food?" I asked.

"No. We can't survive off of it. But we indulge every now and then"

"Don't you miss living off of human food?"

Gabriel chuckled softly "Judging that I haven't had any in over three hundred years…I'm going to say no"

I bit my lip and put my fork back on my plate "Done"

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the dining hall doors opening.

"Excellent. Now I can show you to your room" Nathaniel said cheerfully.

* * *

My room was at the very top of one of the castle towers. I opened the door to my bedroom and found myself having to use the knob for support.

Gold. There was gold everywhere.

The walls were a creamy white but gold molding covered them almost completely. A giant, extravagant, chandelier hung in the center of a gold and sapphire ceiling, and then my eyes fell on the massive, king sized bed that faced the room.

"This room is based on King Ludwig's room in the Linderhof castle; your room is just bigger" Nathaniel said, mistaking my silence for dislike. "If you don't like it, I can-"

"no, no, no- don't. I love it" I said "It's beautiful"

Nathaniel smiled

"I hoped you would like it" He admitted "Me and Gabriel will let you get settled"

Once Nathaniel had shut the doors, I hopped onto the royal blue velvet comforter that rested on the bed and just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep until the next morning, when I woke up and felt hands roaming all over my body. I opened my eyes to see Gabriel lying beside me, using one hand to prop his head up, and the other to trace circles along my skin. He smiled arrogantly and raised his eyebrows.

"Morning, princess" He chuckled.

I shivered as his breath brushed against my throat, and scooted away.

Something changed in Gabriel's eyes. They took on a red tint and then it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared.

"C'mon" He said as he rose from the bed "We have shopping to do"

"Shopping?" I repeated. I hadn't seen anything, but suddenly my back was against the wall, and Gabriel was so close that his chest brushed up against mine.

"Well, you can't walk around in that sorry excuse for a gown all the time. It is _much_-" He brought his lips to my ear "_too tempting"_

He whispered as one of his hands grasped my behind to accentuate his point. I stared up at the vampire with wide-eyes. I think now's the time that I should be frightened.

"Gabriel, please stop" I pleaded as I pushed against his chest.

Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine" He sulked. Gabriel started for the door, but paused mid-stride.

"Nathaniel's handling some family business in England, so he'll be gone for a few weeks. Looks like you'll be stuck with me-" He paused to flash me a dazzling smile "Oh, and there are clothes in the closet. Dress warm"

And then Gabriel left me alone.

How long had he been in here while I slept? I shuddered at the thought. Instead of freaking myself out, I went over to the closet and picked out some clothes to wear today.

* * *

_**Third Person**_

Gabriel pulled out a chair from the dining room table and waited patiently.

He was curious about this pixie.

Only one woman had ever interested him this much.

_And that ended well, __**didn't it?**_ Gabriel sneered mentally.

The vampire straightened when he heard Chloe's jumbled thoughts getting closer.

A half second later, Chloe appeared through the two doors. Gabriel looked her up and down slowly.

She was wearing a navy-blue dress with some black boots and a black pea-coat on top.. Gabriel raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Let's go" He sighed.

"Um, what are we shopping for, exactly?" Chloe asked as she followed him from the room.

Gabriel glanced over his shoulder to answer "Clothes for you, food for you, other things you may need or want- and a few things for Damon"

"Damon's coming with us?" Chloe shouted

"God- no" Gabriel replied "And keep it down- I would have heard you just fine had it been a whisper. Damon hasn't left the east wing in over a hundred years. But he's going to wake up tomorrow and he'll need to feed. It's my job to make sure he doesn't mistake _my_ pixie-human for food"

Gabriel grinned when Chloe made no snarky comment about belonging to no one.

"Sleeping?" She repeated "For a hundred years?"

Chloe then received one of Gabriel's infamous 'you poor thing- it must really suck to be so stupid' looks.

"Don't be ridiculous. Damon hates sleeping for long periods of time. He's only been sleeping for about…fifteen years or so. It's been awfully quiet around here since then"

Chloe frowned "What do you mean?" she asked, as Gabriel held the door to a very expensive looking car open for her.

"I mean that I don't at all miss the extravagant Balls and parties, the screams, or the horrific mess that me and Nate are always stuck with cleaning up" Gabriel muttered as he started the car.

"Hm. From what I've heard he doesn't seem like the partying type" Chloe said softly.

"Damon can be very charming- when he wants to be. Right now, is not one of those times, unfortunately"

Chloe resolved that a subject change was in order, so she asked the first question that popped into her head.

"So how could someone hurt a vampire?" She asked "You obviously have no aversion to sunlight" She stared pointedly at the bright sun, rising in the east.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows "Looking to stake me already, are you?"

Chloe smiled but motioned for him to continue.

"Well, there are several ways actually, driving a hawthorn, aspen, white thorn, or ash stake through our heart could nearly kill us. Although, I'm almost positive that ash will get the job done. Those things hurt like fucking hell- excuse my French. Setting us on fire would definitely slow us down. So would crossing running water. It's harder the more powerful the vampire is. I tried it once and couldn't get even two feet in the water! Excruciating stuff- running water. Oh and then there's decapitation. That'll kill us."

Chloe laughed at Gabriel's nonchalance and sat back in her seat. Within a few minutes, they had reached the town.

"That's odd" Gabriel whispered as he stepped from the car.

"What?" Chloe asked, when he appeared the next second, holding her door open for her.

Gabriel paused, as if he were listening to something that Chloe couldn't hear…

"Wha-"

"The night you ran up to our gates. When you were being chased- you're sure it was a wolf?" Gabriel interrupted.

"Yeah. It was huge. As big as a horse. But I never told you that I was chased to your house by a wolf" Chloe replied, confused. Gabriel rolled his eyes and tapped his head twice.

Mind-reader, right.

He pulled out his cell-phone and Chloe frowned, leaning against the car while Gabriel hissed into the phone.

Finally, Gabriel hung up the phone and turned back to Chloe.

"Okay, lets go" He said, flashing a sexy smile.

They began walking down the cobblestone streets, which were creepily deserted.

"So what do you want?" Gabriel asked "I'd prefer that we don't stay long"

His eyebrows furrowed as the sentence left his mouth.

"Well, I would like another silk chemise" Chloe offered.

A slow grin lit up Gabriel's face as he led Chloe into a small boutique.

"We'll take a silk chemise in every color, and any bra that's a size 38 b cup" Gabriel told one of the women working there.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at the vampire. Perv.

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

We returned some hours later with a shit load of bags filled with clothes and food.

I slumped against the couch and sighed tiredly.

Gabriel stared down at me with his hands in his pockets.

"I've got to go" He said boredly.

I frowned up at him "Go? Where?"

"Just to England. I need to take care of some business of my own, it would seem. And I'll be bringing Nathaniel home with me. He's finished with his business sooner than expected"

I stood up, with my frown deepening. "When are you leaving?" I asked.

Gabriel glanced out the window and stared at the setting sun, covered by rolling clouds.

"I should probably be leaving right now" he murmured "So the hired help are here so that you won't be alone. And…don't…go outside, until I get back"

"Why not?" I asked "What's outside?"

Without noticing it, I had moved closer to Gabriel during our conversation. Now our chests were touching.

"I think something is going on in the town. Nathaniel and I will probably be back before lunch tomorrow- but just in case" Gabriel said.

I smiled, relieved that Gabriel and Nathaniel would be back by tomorrow.

Before I realized it, Gabriel's face was inches from mine, and his cool hands were running through my hair. I surprised both him and myself when I leaned into him rather than pulling away.

Gabriel kept one hand in my hair and used the other to cup my face, planting light butterfly kisses along my cheeks before pressing his lips against mine. I kissed him back, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with a jolt of different emotions. But the strongest by far, was passion. Soon, my and Gabriel's lips were at war, mashing to the other fiercely, they fought for several minutes before I had pull away for air. I didn't unwrap myself from Gabriel. He didn't let go of me either, just smiled at the dazed and dreamy look in my eyes.

"I'll be back soon" He said. And disappeared from sight.

I sighed and sat back down on the couch, turning on the television. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of the front door slamming shut, and shot up off of the couch. Gabriel and Nathaniel must have gotten back early. I stumbled around a bit, still feeling a little groggy, but eventually, I gained function of my legs. I walked out into the hall to see that it wasn't Gabriel and Nathaniel. It wasn't the vampires at all.

Instead, what I saw, made me puke all over the ground in front of me.

On the floor some twenty feet away, was one of the maids. Her stomach had been torn open along with some of the rib cage and the woman's intestines were spilling out gruesomely. She was also missing a _large_ chunk of her throat, making her look like a pez dispenser. But that wasn't the worst part.

Standing above the woman, with its giant nozzle eating her insides, was a giant wolf- with insanely black eyes. The wolf paused when it heard me throw up, and its head raised to look at me.

I pulled on my invisible glamour and hoped that it wouldn't start sniffing the air- although, I'm pretty sure that the beast could hear my heart pounding away in my chest; I wasn't thinking straight.

And of course, with my luck, the wolf didn't even pause to sniff the air. He just charged.

I darted off in the opposite direction and ran up the stairs as quickly as my legs would allow. There was no way I would be eaten by a wolf. Not today.

I risked a glance back and instantly regretted it. The wolf was right on my tail.

I let out a small squeak and darted off towards the right, when I made the first landing. The wolf followed quickly behind me and I cursed aloud when I realized that I didn't know where I was.

I took another right, and resisted the urge to scream. I had just cornered myself. I was on the eastern side of the castle- and the two enormous eighteen foot doors in front of me- were bolted shut. I tried them anyway, knowing that I would be screwed even if they were open- because then I would have to fend for myself against an uncontrollable vampire. I doubted I could even push the doors open, before the wolf got me…

I pushed the door and it opened easily under my weight. Before I had a chance to rethink my decision, a cold, pale, hand snaked around my wrist and pulled me into the darkness of the east wing.

I was tossed onto the floor with a soft thud, and could only make out the outline of a man before the small sliver of light from outside was cut off by the door shutting.

I could feel my heart beating like the anxious flapping of a bird's feathers, and knew I was on the edge of hysteria when I realized that it was too dark to even see two feet in front of me.

Suddenly, there was a flash of red and I glanced up into glowing red eyes. In the dark, I could barely make out the faint glow of pearly white teeth…and two fangs.

* * *

**What did you think? Leave me reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

I had a hard time writing this chapter. So please forgive its awfulness.

* * *

I skittered backwards away from who I now assumed was Damon. Before I could get far, I bumped into something soft yet hard and stopped when I felt a sticky liquid trail down my hand.

"Stay there." growled an irritated voice. I froze in the bleak blackness and waited, but nothing happened. After a few moments of staying there in darkness waiting for my death, I began to wonder if this was how Damon hunted.

Did he wait until the heart was so scared that it was pumping double the adrenaline and blood before he drained his victims dry.

"Shh" Damon hushed, his tone of voice was definitely one of irritation. "Calm the hell down. It can hear your heart beating"

I remembered the giant wolf outside the door and took a few deep breaths, feeling my heart return to a normal rate.

"Now…" Damon said "Don't move."

After he had finished his sentence, there was a crack of light and I could see Damon's outline once more, he was standing by the barely opened door, eyes glowing red.

After a few seconds, the wolf popped its head through the crack and glanced around.

Before it even had the chance to run, Damon took the open door and began pounding it violently against the wolf's head.

The wolf couldn't escape because it was pinned between the other unmoving door, so Damon kept up his pattern of swinging the door open and then slamming it back against the wolf's skull.

Within a matter of seconds, there was nothing left of the wolf's head except for the brain matter and skull fragments left on the carpet.

Damon swung the door fully open, letting light into the hallway, and giving me my first glance at his face.

He was beautiful. More than beautiful actually.

He had pale skin, and an angular face, complemented by sensuously shaped eyes and a shock of black hair. He was built for stealth and agility. I could tell by the sinuous, serpentine, look of his muscles beneath his black shirt. He gave me a sexy smirk and leaned back against the door, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well aren't you a cute little thing" He commented, flashing me a sexy smirk. His fangs were gone and his red eyes had been replaced by blue eyes the color of calm water.

His eyes looked me up and down slowly, a small smile tugging up his lips, before his eyes met mine.

"You should probably go get yourself cleaned off" He said coolly.

I frowned.

Not at his suggestion, but because he was completely different than I had expected. He had _saved_ me, and now was suggesting that I go and take a shower.

Where was the violent death that Gabriel had warned me about?

"Um, that would be right behind you. And _on_ you… a little" Damon said in response to my thought.

Great, another mind-reader.

I hesitantly looked behind me, afraid of what I might see since I was still sprawled on the carpet.

Above me, was a girl. She was _hanging_.

There was a thin piece of razor wire wrapped around her neck, holding her up on her tippy-toes and some more razor wire tying her wrists together in back.

She was completely naked and covered in blood, it was dripping down her legs and onto my hair and hands. Her eyes were open in wide-eyed terror and there was a large hole in her stomach the size of a fist where blood and other innards were hanging out.

I made a sound that resembled a scream, a cry, and a whimper all in one as I tried to get to my feet and run away.

It wasn't working out too well.

"Alright. C'mon, walk it off" said Damon's velvety voice as cold hands wrapped around my arms and hoisted me up to me feet.

I stared at him, trembling uncontrollably, and took a step back.

He had _done_ this to her.

Damon rolled his eyes dramatically and pointed at the hanging corpse.

"Actually, I only put her out of her misery. My brother is the one who brought her in here and hung her up. He has to use the razor wire because the smell of blood is the only thing that brings me out of my room. She was already bleeding out when I reached her"

I felt my heart pounding like an energizer bunny again, and took a shaky breath, which turned into me shaking all over.

"Alright, alright. Here we go" Damon coaxed, as he led me to the large doors that led out of the east wing. He none to gently kicked the giant wolf out of the way so I could pass, and then led me to one of the guest bathrooms. He took three towels out from one of the cabinets and then disappeared. Leaving me alone.

Just as I was about to settle down and take a deep breath, he reappeared with some of the clothes that Gabriel had bought me yesterday.

There was a clean pair of underwear and a new bra, along with a deep blue long-sleeved shirt and some black cargo pants.

He then, walked passed me and turned the shower on, moving the dial over to warm so that it produced a thick steam. When I only stared at him blankly, he sighed and pointed towards the shower.

"Well go on" He demanded.

I snapped out of whatever reverie I was in and scowled at him.

"I'm not taking a shower with you in here" I said disdainfully.

Damon rolled his eyes and walked to the door. "Yeah, whatever. Make it quick" He said before shutting the door behind himself.

I stared after him for a few minutes, before stripping off the bloody clothes and stepping into the warm shower.

Either this vampire was a very good actor, or Nathaniel and Gabriel had lied about their brother. Neither of the options seemed promising.

I sighed, pouring shampoo into my hands. This just kept getting more and more confusing.

* * *

When I was done with my shower I went to the kitchen.

To say that I was surprised to see Damon in there, _cooking_, would be an understatement.

He glanced up at me over the frying pain and raised his eyebrows.

"How do you like your eggs?"

My jaw went slack for a few seconds and I felt like my brain had just shut down. What the hell was happening right now?

"Fried is fine" I replied, taking out one of the barstools and sitting across from him.

"You keep getting this shocked expression on your face whenever you look at me. I'm wondering why that is" Damon said softly, glancing back at me.

I fumbled over a response and finally settled for "Your brothers just told me that you were…different than this" I said lamely.

Damon chuckled as he dropped two eggs on my plate. They smelled amazing.

"I'm not surprised" Damon admitted "My brothers and I…don't…get along, I guess you could say"

"Why not?" I asked as I stuffed my mouth with eggs.

Damon shrugged "Bad blood" he winked as he said this.

"Whose fault was it first?" I asked. Damon worked his jaw as he thought.

"Both. I guess. We had a falling out sometime ago, and we haven't forgiven each other since. Rather than deal with Gabriel's constant glaring and childish remarks, I decided to just board up my side of the castle and stay there."

"So why come out now?" I asked. Damon raised his eyebrows up and down maniacally.

"It's been awhile since we've had a house guest" He replied caustically.

I snickered as the kitchen doors burst open. Gabriel and Nathaniel stood in the doorway their eyes locked on me, seeming to take inventory and make sure I wasn't injured, before their eyes flitted to Damon.

"Hello little brother" Damon said to Gabriel "I suggest you take better care of your pet next time you decide to leave the country"

I was about to retort that I was _no one's_ pet, but Gabriel cut me off.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" There were no words to describe the venom that seethed through Gabriel's voice as he said this. It was pure hatred.

Damon looked around, feigning confusion. "Excuse me, but I believe that I have as much right to this castle as you do" Damon paused to smirk venomously at Gabriel before he wiggled a finger at the vampire. "And I believe _you_ have some explaining to do, Gabriel dear"

"Shut up, you sick son of a bitch" Gabriel hissed. Damon's smile widened and he tsked at his brother.

"Now, that's not polite language to use in front of a lady"

"Damon, stop it" It was Nathaniel this time.

Damon barked a laugh that quickly turned into a snarl. "Stop _what._" He demanded "It's not my fault that our _dear_ brother Gabriel is incapable of telling the truth. Or doing something right."

What was he talking about?

Nathaniel seemed to be asking the same question as he glanced unsurely between Gabriel and Damon.

"What's going on?" Nathaniel asked. I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at Damon and Gabriel.

I didn't like secrets.

Damon laughed aloud and turned to me conspiratorially "Well then, you're _really_ going to hate this family. We were built on them"

"Seriously, what the hell are you guys talking about? Why am I always out of the loop" Nathaniel hissed.

Gabriel and Damon didn't seem to hear him. They were too busy glaring at each other.

Gabriel's pretty eyes were beginning to swirl with red, and Damon's eyes were already full-blown red.

"Why don't we go sit down and talk about this calmly, without resorting to violence" I offered in a wavering voice. "Or- or, we could discuss other matters _like the giant fucking wolf that attacked me this morning_"

Ah, that did the trick.

Gabriel's head snapped up and he stared at me as Nathaniel seemed to take closer inspection upon my well-being. Damon simply rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist dismissively.

"Now, that's a bit overdramatic, the beast didn't even touch you" He sighed.

I narrowed my eyes at the vampire "I would still like to know what it was doing _here_. And how it got into the bloody castle in the first place"

"Maybe a little Felling History Lesson is in order first." Nathaniel said wearily, he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

From that, I guessed that the Felling history wasn't a happy history.

"Have fun with that" Gabriel said hurriedly as he quickly left the kitchen.

"Yeah, I have some hunting to do" Damon murmured before walking out of the kitchen.

Nathaniel and I turned to each other.

"Well, that doesn't sound too good" I joked. Nathaniel crinkled his nose and nodded for me to follow him.

"It's not" He said grimly

* * *

"Okay, so as you already know, we're vampires. And as such, we have different laws and forms of government than humans do. We are ruled by a king and a queen along with their Council. The Felling's have always been a family of nobility in the vampire world. Right now, Gabriel and Damon are a part of the Council. Where Gabriel is happy with his position under the king, Damon is more…ambitious. His ambitions have created some tension between us over the years though."

"How so?" I asked

"Gabriel was…married once. We also had another Felling brother" Nathaniel said in a hushed voice. "None of us knew until much later, but Gabriel's wife had been having an affair with Damon. She was as ambitious and cunning as Damon is, so they got along well. Damon saw the development as a way to influence the king and to get into his good graces. When Katherine, Gabriel's wife, told Damon something about the king that could be taken as treasonous, Damon reported her. To the king, it would look like Damon's loyalty to him was so fierce that he would even condemn the loved one of a family member- to Gabriel, it was the blackest form of betrayal. Gabriel never forgave him and in retaliation, he devised a way to get revenge, by plotting the death of Damon's most beloved brother, Jonathan. He succeeded. After that, Damon locked himself in the east wing where he stayed in his room for the duration of a hundred and fifty years or so. Until now."

I stared at Nathaniel in horror.

Jesus Christ. Gabriel had his own brother murdered for the sake of revenge! That's…_evil._

And, Damon! He's a sick manipulator. If this had happened while they were humans, both of them would be condemned to death. Nathaniel's explanation left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I didn't want to live here anymore. When Damon had said that there was bad blood between them, I didn't take him so literally!

"And then there's the problem with the wolves…" Nathaniel trailed off unsurely.

I turned to him with hardened eyes. "What problem?"

* * *

**What do you think? Leave me reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

_I didn't want to live here anymore. When Damon had said that there was bad blood between them, I didn't take him so literally!_

"_And then there's the problem with the wolves…" Nathaniel trailed off unsurely._

_I turned to him with hardened eyes. "What problem?"_

"They're werewolves. Their leader, has been picking fights with our kind since our king was first coronated, since the Felling's are so high in the ranks when it comes to the monarchy, the wolves have been known to target us from time to time. We moved here, to Austria for that reason- now it looks like they've found us" Nathaniel explained.

I sighed in exasperation. This was all crazy.

Vampires were freaking crazy!

Nathaniel pursed his lips and stared at me as I absorbed this new information.

I felt like I had just stepped onto the set of a vampire soap opera.

"So let me get this straight" I started "Damon, in his irrational quest for power intentionally had Gabriel's wife killed, fully aware of the consequences- Gabriel, in an act of revenge, has his _own_ brother murdered, knowing that it would deeply upset Damon; and all of you are dealing with an invasion of werewolves, is that about right?"

"You make it sound like we're heartless bastards or something" Damon said calmly, literally appearing out of nowhere. He smirked at me when I glanced at him "We're much, much, worse; truly"

I crossed my arms over my chest "So what? You're heartless and soulless?" I asked

Damon's face broke into a sexy smile as he began circling around me in the small hallway.

"Well the soulless part is a given- we are vampires afterall. All I'm saying, is that you can't blame us for something that we can't help. Us vampires don't experience your little human emotions- we're empty on the inside; cold, desolate, remote. That's why you won't get an apology from either me or Gabriel. To vampires, our behavior is completely normal"

"Well you aren't living with other vampires, you're living with me. And if you want me to continue living with you, there will be no more of this stupid blood battle between you and Gabriel. I mean it, it ends now" I replied.

Damon put his hands up in surrender and shrugged his shoulders gracefully "Fine, whatever you say" He said before turning and walking away. I frowned after him.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Back to my room" Damon called over his shoulder, before disappearing into the darkness of the east wing.

I ran a hand through my hair and looked back at Nathaniel who shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.

"So what do you want to do today?" He asked curiously.

"I was just going to curl up with a book in the library" I replied. Nathaniel nodded.

"Well, I'll be in my office if you need anything" He offered, before leaving me in the hallway.

I stared after him for several seconds before walking towards the west side of the castle. With each step I took, I felt a small pull towards the east wing. Just a small trickle of curiosity that wanted me to go back, and take a look around.

I drowned that feeling quickly and made my way to the library before I did anything I would regret later.

* * *

I spent most of the afternoon reading through large, leather-bound books. Before I realized it, the day had passed by and it was early evening. The sun was slowly setting outside the window, casting magnificent shades of gold, pink, violet, and dark blues across the sky. I closed the book I was reading and decided now was a good time to get some dinner.

And once again, as I passed the entryway to the east wing- I felt the small draw, pulling me towards it.

This time I listened.

I paused at the giant doors, inhaling deeply, before slowly pushing them open. It was much harder to open the doors, then it had been last time; but I managed.

Once they closed behind me, I was back in that pitch black darkness that never ceased to frighten me. I ignored it and blindly stepped forward, hoping there wasn't any walls or stairs straight ahead.

It turns out, that I didn't need to see. Smooth, cold fingers wrapped around mine, pulling me against a broad chest. My hair blew up behind me as if a small gust had just rushed through the hallway, and I gasped when awareness seeped through me.

I wasn't in the hallway anymore. I was in a large bedroom filled with a large, red velvet bed, a fireplace that was crackling with life, and a large window with its curtains drawn back to reveal the back of the castle- facing the lavender field and small lake beyond.

I felt cool breath against my ear and shivered as cold fingers drew slow circles along my shoulders.

"So the pixie came to play" Damon mused against my throat before he trailed small kisses along my jaw and neckline.

Oh my god. Why was I letting him do this?

He appeared in front of me and tilted my chin upwards before he planted a brief, passionate kiss on my lips. He pulled away, gauging my expression for any sign that I wanted him to stop. When he didn't find one, he kissed me again, more roughly.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, as my knees grew weak, and held me against him.

I moaned against his lips as an explosion of emotions whirred through me.

What was wrong with me? Why wasn't I stopping this? Why did I _like_ it so much?

He nipped at my lower lip with his teeth and traced his tongue along the small cut to suck up the blood. I whimpered, finally finding function of my limps again, and kissed him back, feverously.

That seemed to be all the permission Damon needed, before he led us to the bed.

* * *

I was floating on a cloud of blissful surrender. That's what it felt like. Whatever I had been thinking this would feel like- it wasn't what I was feeling now.

_This_ was…indescribable.

"Um, Master Damon, sir. Your brothers are requesting yours and Miss Chloe's attendance at dinner"

And that sentence ruined it.

I sighed in irritation as Damon's fangs retracted and he left an empty, hollow feeling in my throat. He let out a deep growl and the house maid scurried off in a bit of a hurry.

When she left, Damon smiled down at me, his hair in a messy disarray.

"You're not bad" He remarked "We should do this again"

I snickered and turned my head to expose the two small holes in my neck, still dripping blood.

"Can you do something about this?" I asked.

Damon flashed me a smirk before he leaned down and brought his lips to the wound.

I felt his cool tongue trace over the circles and visibly shivered as they healed.

"Alright" Damon sighed, running a hand through his dark hair "Let's go eat"

* * *

Dinner was weird.

Basically, it was just me eating while Damon, Nathaniel, and Gabriel stared intently at me; avoiding each other's gazes.

I could slice the tension with a paper napkin- that's a lot of tension.

I sipped my soup, trying to remain quiet. I felt like if I was to disturb the eerie silence that had fallen over the room- everything would be lost.

Thankfully, Damon saved me from whatever it was that's going on here.

"I have something to announce" He said gleefully

My eyes raised from my spoon along with two other pairs of eyes.

"Have you finally decided to move far, far, away and take the shame you've brought our family with you" Gabriel sneered.

There was a number of flashes and before my eyes, the vampires disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the room. Gabriel was up against the wall, being held up by his throat by a smirking- or snarling- Damon.

Damon's eyes were a deep, glowing red and his fangs were elongated as he hissed "You, Gabriel, are warring on my very last nerve. Especially with your hypocrisies. You say I brought shame to this family?" Damon paused to laugh viciously "You married a whore- and a treasoner. And then you murdered your own brother, the one of us who was most innocent. So don't you _**dare**_ spit your judgmental bullshit in my face- or I'll stop you permanently by removing your jaw."

Damon shoved Gabriel roughly against the wall for emphasis before letting him fall to the floor. He glared down at Gabriel, a small, arrogant smirk on his lips.

"You may have your cute little mind-reading trick- but I'm older than you Gabriel- older and stronger. You best take mind to remember that the next time you feel like mouthing off" Damon said coldly before returning to his seat with blithe nonchalance as if he and Gabriel's small imbroglio never happened.

Nathaniel and I exchanged glances before staring at Damon.

Gabriel shook invisible dust from his shirt and returned to his seat, he snapped his fingers twice and called out loudly:

"More wine!"

Damon sat casually at the head of the table, swirling sloshing red liquid around in his wine class as a small, satisfied, smile tugged at his lips.

"Well…" He started.

"Well, what?" Nathaniel and I asked at the same time.

"Aren't you going to ask me what it is that I'm going to announce?"

"I was fairly sure you were going to tell us anyway" Nathaniel sighed boredly as he took a large swig of wine spiked blood.

Damon rolled his eyes dramatically but the smile stayed intact on his face.

"We're going to be hosting a party tomorrow" He said grandly.

Those words sent the tension and eerie silence flying away, and they were replaced by loud groans and long streams of profanities.

During our outburst, Damon sat, content, contemplative, and invisible at the head of the table, hands folded together as he rested his chin on them; a dark glint in his eye.

* * *

_**Sorry for the shortness. It'll be longer next time- promise. Don't forget to review!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Alright, sorry for the wait. Here's you next chap. Don't forget to review!  
**_"_Aren't you going to ask me what it is that I'm going to announce?"_

* * *

"_I was fairly sure you were going to tell us anyway" Nathaniel sighed boredly as he took a large swig of wine spiked blood._

_Damon rolled his eyes dramatically but the smile stayed intact on his face._

"_We're going to be hosting a party tomorrow" He said grandly._

_Those words sent the tension and eerie silence flying away, and they were replaced by loud groans and long streams of profanities._

_During our outburst, Damon sat, content, contemplative, and invisible at the head of the table, hands folded together as he rested his chin on them; a dark glint in his eye._

"This is utterly ridiculous" I sighed, turning away from the mirror to face Gabriel. He was leaning casually against the wall behind me with a predatory look in his eyes that made me shiver all over with pleasure.

At least he liked the dress…

"Like it?" Gabriel repeated in a silky voice "Not at all. It covers way too much of that beautiful white flesh of yours"

I looked down at the dress, pouting slightly.

The gown was strapless, with a, green silk plunging v-neckline and a form fitting taffeta bodice that hugged tightly to my curves and pushed up my breasts. At the waist, it separated off into a large, black bottom that reached my feet. It was hardly what I would call "conservative"

(_**Author's note: There's a pic of the dress on my profile. I suck at descriptions**_)

"Spend a little more time with us vampires, and you'll understand" Gabriel said as he bent to kiss my hand. "Now, let's get downstairs. My brother is getting antsy"

"Which one?" I asked curiously.

Gabriel cocked his head to the side, as if he were listening to something I couldn't hear before turning back to me with a small smirk.

"Both" He muttered, before trailing me down the stairs.

* * *

"Try to keep your pet close by, Gabriel dear. Some of the folks attending tonight aren't very hands-off when it comes to the delicious company you keep" Damon teased playfully, a wicked grin gracing his pale face.

"Yeah, you would know all about that wouldn't you, Damon?"

Damon's eyes met mine, and I felt a small shiver roll down my spine at the intimate thoughts the small glance held. Slowly, Damon turned back to Gabriel, his fangs fully extended- he laughed aloud.

"You have no idea, brother. No idea at all"

Gabriel frowned at Damon's back as he walked away.

"Shall we?" Nathaniel asked- literally appearing out of nowhere.

God, I was starting to hate how they kept doing that.

"Yep"

"Let's get this over with"

We walked into the main hall where Damon was already greeting guests. Pale, beautiful, guests in pretty dresses and tuxedos.

"Not what you'd expect from vampires?" Nathaniel asked, probably in regards to the surprised look on my face.

"No. This is exactly what I'd expect. I just thought there'd be a little more…diversity" I replied.

Gabriel chuckled beside me "Vampires like to keep to themselves. We don't get along with most of the other supernaturals."

"Ah" was my small reply. Right now, there was a particularly gorgeous vampire woman walking towards us. Looking at her made my insides twist with the greenest form of envy.

Why couldn't _**I **_look like that?

"_Because, you're not a vampire."_ Gabriel replied mentally. I flashed him an icy glare as he smirked at me.

"Gabriel and Nathaniel Felling- it's been awhile" The woman said, completely ignoring my presence.

Bitch…

Gabriel squeezed my hand in warning and I rolled my eyes.

"Rebecca, it's good to see you" Nathaniel replied, casting wary glances between Gabriel and I. "I'd like to introduce you to our house guest, Chloe"

Rebecca's eyes traveled slowly over me and she laughed aloud, flirtatiously touching Gabriel on the shoulder. I raised my eyebrows but kept quiet.

"My god" Rebecca sighed "I thought she was another slave"

My eyebrows raised higher and Gabriel grabbed a glass of wine from the waiter, taking a deep sip. A slave wearing a ball gown and being accompanied by two of the three Felling brothers?

I take back my last comment. She's not a bitch. She a vindictive, mentally-challenged, poop sucking, whore with eyesight problems.

Gabriel spit out the blood-spiked wine as he laughed. He looked at Rebecca and nodded "Yes, Chloe gets that all the time. Excuse us please"

Gabriel pulled me towards the least populated area of the ballroom, leaving behind a peeved looking Nathaniel.

I stared at all of the twirling figures with something along the lines of awed contempt.

Stupid, arrogant, beautiful, blood-sacks.

My hate fest was cut short by the feel of cool lips against mine. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush against a strong chest. I deepened the kiss, stepping onto the tips of my toes and wrapping my arms around Gabriel's neck as he caressed my hair gently.

"May I cut in?" came a familiar, silky voice.

Gabriel and I broke away from each other and turned to Damon. There was a small, smirk on the vampires face as he looked between Gabriel and I. Apparently, he found something amusing about all of this.

"Chloe" Damon called "Dance with me"

I rolled my eyes as Damon's cool hand pulled me towards him. Gabriel raised an eyebrow but said nothing in reply to my innocent shrug before Damon pulled me onto the dance floor.

"You don't seem like the dancing type" I remarked as Damon led us into an intricate form of the waltz.

"Are you kidding? I love to dance" Damon replied "And I enjoy it even more when my partner is the love-interest of my sniveling younger brother"

I glared at Damon smacking him lightly over the head "Watch it, buddy"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room and almost everyone froze- except for Damon and I. He twirled us through the frozen crowd with ease, his eyes smiling.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" I asked in a hushed voice. Damon leaned in, his mouth brushing my ear. That simple gesture, sent shivers through my entire body as I remembered last night- when he had drank from me.

"Humans don't usually get away with hitting vampires, or giving them commands" Damon said lightly.

"Why do I get away with it then?" I asked, a small smile on my lips.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Damon answered. When I only raised my eyebrows, he sighed in exasperation. "You get away with it, Chloe. Because I like you" he drawled.

I rolled my eyes "Mkay, vampire boy"

Damon chuckled and twirled me around as everyone went back to what they were doing, casting curious stares in our direction.

"So how are we going to break it to my brother?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrows maniacally as he smiled.

"You lost me"

Damon pulled me against him and growled low in his throat.

"_I want you_" He whispered vehemently. I pushed away from him, scowling.

"Well that's nice, but just because you want me doesn't mean you can have me. I'm a human being, damnit." I stammered

Damon took a step closer "Silly, naïve, Chloe. If I wanted you that bad- I'd have you already. I just find Gabriel's humiliation when time after time his girlfriends choose me over him, far too amusing to give up on it now. So I'll let you play house with my brother for now, but when you feel like gaming with the big boys- you know where to find me" He whispered against my throat.

I shivered and took a step away from him, somehow still managing to glare.

"I don't want to dance with you anymore"

"You'll come around, soon enough" Damon flashed a 100 watt smile.

"No she won't" Gabriel's voice came from directly behind me, making me jump.

I turned to see him glaring at Damon with furious, red eyes.

"I want you to leave her alone" Gabriel continued in a snarl.

"You see Gabby, that's your problem. You always assume that I somehow seduce them into it with my constant badgering. The truth is, you're boring. I can't help that I'm simply better than you in every way"

"Don't call me that."

"Boys, stop it" I demanded

"Call you what? Gabby?" Damon coaxed, completely ignoring me.

"Damon, I'm warning you" Gabriel growled

"Stop it now, both of you!" I hissed.

"_Gabby, Gabby, Gabby, __**Gabby**_"

"Damon, you're acting like a child. What the hell is wrong with you two?" I shouted, moving between them as they glared each other down.

"You know what I hope?" Damon said in an eerily calm voice as he stared at Gabriel "I hope she does choose you. And I hope that you love her more than any other girl before. Then, I'll snap her neck and throw her into the dumpster out back so that you can smell her decaying body from your bedroom. Maybe then, you'll know what it's like to lose something worth more than your own pathetic life. To lose something good, and full of the integrity that you could only dream of having, to lose something completely _innocent_."

"Damon" I gasped. He roughly shoved me aside and got into Gabriel's face.

"You could feel sorry for yourself all you like. But it would only be karma, it would only be _fair_. You killed her before she even stepped foot into this house. You killed her, because you killed Jonathan, and no matter how much time you spend in your room begging for forgiveness- you will always have his blood on your hands and the blood of all those you love. I told you that I would make your life unbearable and I plan on keeping my word _Gabriel Felling._"

"That is quite enough, Damon" Nathaniel roared, pushing Damon a good few feet away. "If Chloe is harmed in any way at all while staying in this house, I will personally see to setting your bitter ass on fire- do I make myself clear?"

Damon raised an eyebrow before taking a goblet of blood and raising it to Nathaniel.

"Whatever you say, older brother" Damon muttered. Nathaniel snarled, his eyes flashing red and he growled low in warning. Damon rolled his eyes, flicking a dismissive wrist.

All the while I was still soaking in the older brother thing. Nathaniel was older than Damon and Gabriel?

I suppose it would make sense. Nathaniel was probably younger when he was turned and then Damon and Gabriel were changed some years after, maybe.

Again, everyone was staring at us. After an awkward silence, every vampire's head snapped up and turned to the northern window of the ballroom- every face contorting into a malevolent snarl with fangs and glowing red eyes.

What the hell?

The sound made it to me a few seconds later.

It was a long, drawn out, howl. A wolf.

There was another long silence in the ballroom before total chaos broke out.

And the wolves broke in.

Large, furry figures crashed through the windows in every direction and began devouring vampires left and right.

My head whipped from side to side as I tried to comprehend what I was seeing. Jesus Christ, why did they have to pick the one night I was wearing high-heels to charge the damn castle?

"Chloe!"

I turned to the caller and found Gabriel's worried eyes on me as he fought off a giant werewolf.

"Chloe look out!"

I followed Gabriel's horrified gaze to see a giant fucking beast of a werewolf charging at me with the kind of force that would probably break my spine on impact. There was a deep, bloodlust in the wolf's eyes as it charged closer.

I felt like everything had gone into slow motion, and now it was all speeding back up.

Realizing that I was actually in some deep shit, I did the only thing a sane person would do in that situation.

I screamed.

I stared in the wolf's eyes- still screaming- and a little part of me seemed to falter

Sweet Jesus. I was going to become dog food.

That realization made my screaming rise in pitch and volume.

Soon, it drowned out every other noise.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Here's your next chapter. Don't forget review!**_

* * *

_I followed Gabriel's horrified gaze to see a giant fucking beast of a werewolf charging at me with the kind of force that would probably break my spine on impact. There was a deep, bloodlust in the wolf's eyes as it charged closer._

_I felt like everything had gone into slow motion, and now it was all speeding back up._

_Realizing that I was actually in some deep shit, I did the only thing a sane person would do in that situation._

_I screamed._

_I stared in the wolf's eyes- still screaming- and a little part of me seemed to falter_

_Sweet Jesus. I was going to become dog food._

_That realization made my screaming rise in pitch and volume. _

_Soon, it drowned out every other noise._

* * *

The wolf leapt up into the air, when it was only feet from me, and I knew that this was going to be painful. I turned away, not wanting to watch my own death, but peaked anyway.

The wolf was falling towards me, its teeth exposed, and its claws extended; its eyes were gleaming with so much hatred that I felt like I should have died just by the wolf looking at me. Right at the moment that the impact should have been, there was nothing. I vaguely registered a dark blur, before Damon appeared out of nowhere and ripped the wolf's head of like he was ripping up tissue paper. Warm, sticky liquid hit me and I stared down at myself as I was showered with wolf blood.

"Will you shut up, already?" Damon snapped.

In that moment, I realized that I had still been screaming, and I shut up. But continued screaming on the inside.

I looked around at the destruction that the werewolves had left in their wake and felt my knees go weak as I visibly shivered all over.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked idly as he shook werewolf blood and guts from his arms.

I was in the process of nodding when Damon glanced up at me and stared. But he wasn't staring at me, he was staring behind me.

The look in Damon's eyes was unfathomable. There were no words for it.

And soon, that look was echoed in the eyes of Gabriel and Nathaniel; only their's had a larger amount of horror. Before I could turn to see for myself what had them so shaken after this horrible night, an arm wrapped around my waist and my back was pushed against a broad chest.

I felt cool breath against my ear and a velvety voice call "Sorry about this, love" in a thick British accent, before a hand snaked through my hair, yanked my head back, and excruciating pain erupted all over my body and sent my vision whirling as I screamed again. I felt my flesh come free and rip away at the force with which this new vampire had bit me and soon my vision was going black as my blood spouted out into the mouth of my soon to be murderer.

And then, there was sweet, soft, painless, blackness.

I welcomed it joyously.

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

The Felling brothers could hardly believe what they had just witnessed. But the proof was all around them. The werewolf attack, the missing pixie-human, the desolate looks on all of their faces.

They had just seen their brother. They had just seen Jonathan.

And as troubling in itself as that was, it wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he had very slowly, and very precisely given each and every brother a look of pure hatred and menace, before he swooped Chloe up in his arms and ripped her throat out in front of their eyes.

Damon was still staring belligerently at the place that Jonathan had stood not five minutes ago. How could he do this? _Why_ would he do this?

At first, Damon's mind rejected the idea that his brother could still be alive, had been alive all this time. But then, he began to think- instinctually.

And instinctually, it made sense.

Jonathan was out for blood, like any other betrayed vampire would be, and Jonathan was smart about it.

Damon had to admit, the plan was infallible.

Have a small army of werewolves attack the castle during a giant ball, creating chaos and confusion. Then, while everyone was still recovering and healing from their wounds, still feeling a little dazed and bewildered, he would swoop in and deal a life-threatening blow to the one thing that all of the brothers had agreeably liked in all of their centuries of life. And, just before leaving with his new prize, Jonathan paused, and offered a low bow to his brothers- saying "I'll try to have er' back by midnight"

It was _so _Jonathan.

Damon snarled, cursing under his breath, and viciously kicking the corpse of a werewolf.

He glanced over at his brothers to see Nathaniel leaning with one hand posed up against the wall as he stared out the window at the moonlit forest beyond the castle. His face seemed to be carved into a permanent frown, and his hand slowly curled into a tight fist.

Gabriel was kneeling on his knees, looking more pathetic than Damon had ever seen him, staring at the same place that Damon had been staring at. The look on Gabriel's face was a mix of empty grief, numbness, and deep sorrow. Damon wasn't sure if it was from losing Chloe or from realizing that he couldn't do anything right afterall.

It felt like it had back when the feud was still fresh and hostile. No one looked at each other. No one spoke. Again, they were no longer brothers. They were separate; detached.

Within ten short minutes, everything that had mattered; had been destroyed. And the worst of it was that it was at the hands of the one person who always fought to keep their dysfunctional family together. It was at the hands of their not- very- dead -afterall, brother Jonathan.

Still feeling numb, like every part of himself had been ripped out, Damon turned and slowly walked to the east wing of the castle.

Closing, locking, and bolting the door behind him.

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

I woke up to the sound of running water and groaned, both aloud and internally. Cool hands traced around my body and lifted me from wherever I had been lying. Almost, simultaneously, I was dropped into water.

That woke me up almost immediately, and my eyes snapped open. I was in a bathtub, and the water was turning a pinkish color- that's right, Damon had sprayed me with vampire blood. And then…and then I had been attacked. My hand went up to my throat but found no sign of the damage that I was sure had been inflicted on it.

"Does it hurt? I was fairly sure, I had given you enough of my blood to heal it right up" came a familiar velvet voice.

My eyes flickered over to the vampire in the corner as he stepped from the shadows of the bathroom.

I frowned at him and slowly curled up into a small ball, hiding my private areas as he approached.

"It's nothin I haven't seen before, lovey"

"Quit calling me that" I demanded

The vampire perked up as he pulled up a chair beside the bathtub.

"What? You aren't a fan of pet names?"

"Not when they're given to me by people who try to kill me" I retorted.

The vampire pursed his lips, a small frown gracing his pretty face before he turned back to me, a small smile on his lips "Shame" he remarked in a clipped tone.

He held out his hand, red eyes gleaming "The name's Jonathan. Jonathan Felling. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

I felt a small shock roll through me and I met the vampire's eyes suspiciously as I looked him over more closely. He had the same hair color as Nathaniel only it was a bit darker, the same jaw as Gabriel only a tad bit broader, the same build as Damon only he was a bit smaller.

Overall, Jonathan didn't really look like any of them. He looked younger than Damon and Gabriel, maybe even Nathaniel, but I doubted it.

His hair was thick, and long, reaching his shoulders and he was just as gorgeous as his other brothers. The British accent didn't make a whole lot of sense, but that wasn't the first thing on my mind.

"You're supposed to be dead" I mused aloud.

Jonathan smirked, leaning conspiratorially towards me "I am" He whispered "Try to keep it on the down low, if you get my drift"

I rolled my eyes "That's not what I meant. Damon said that Gabriel hired people to kill you or something. That you were murdered'

Jonathan leaned back in his chair, using the tub edge as a footrest as he entwined his fingers behind his head.

"Sorry to disappoint ya, love"

I narrowed my eyes and turned to face him "So are you like holding me hostage or something? Are you going to kill me?"

This time it was Jonathan who rolled his eyes. "Now why would I go wasting my perfectly good blood on you If I was just gonna kill ya?" He asked rhetorically.

I stared at him suspiciously coming up with hundreds of reasons for his strange behavior in my head.

"So what do you want?" I asked.

Jonathan glanced at the ceiling, sighing deeply before turning back to me with a small smile on his lips.

"Guess" He challenged.

I sighed, pursing my lips, and gauged Jonathan's expression for any hints. He gave nothing away.

"I don't know, revenge?" I shrugged, unsure.

Jonathan smiled "Precisely"

"On who, exactly?" I asked. Jonathan glanced away and glowered at the door of the small bathroom.

"All of them" He muttered under his breath.

"And where do I come in, on all of this?"

"Nowhere. I was just kind of thirsty, and I saw the way that Gabriel and Damon were staring after you like abused puppies, so I thought I'd have some fun with it. I figure, I'll let you hang here for a few days- let them sweat, and then send you back completely unharmed." Jonathan admitted.

I laughed a little at that last part. "But, _why?_"

The corner of Jonathan's mouth tilted up and he raised an eyebrow "I have no vendetta against you lovey, in fact, I think you're kind of cute and attractive. In a highly sexual way"

I flushed red, snickering as I turned away. I could almost feel Jonathan's satisfied smile behind me.

He clapped his hands together suddenly, making me jump, and leaned forward.

"You all bathed off in there, or do you need help?" He raised his eyebrows in the same maniacal way that Damon did and smiled at me, waiting for my reply.

"Do you have clothes for me?" I asked, eyes searching the room for any sort of clothing material.

"Nope. I guess you'll just have to walk around naked"

I narrowed my eyes and Jonathan's smile widened.

"Just kidding" he assured before standing up and lifting his own shirt over his head, exposing his toned upper body to me, and tossing it to me. I looked back at the murky pink water, sure that he couldn't see anything through it and glanced back at him.

"Turn around. And pass me that towel" I commanded.

Jonathan rolled his eyes dramatically but did what I asked.

It was almost comedic how quickly I rushed to rub myself down with the towel and pull the shirt over me head after stepping from the tub.

Jonathan's shirt made it just past my mid thighs- but I was still not comfortable walking around without panties on. Not comfortable at all.

"I just had the maids go out and get you some clothes for the next few days, so you should have proper attire any minute now.

I let out a relieved sigh as Jonathan turned around "Thanks"

He shrugged, an odd tension falling over the both of us.

"You can sleep in whatever bedroom you want. There's no one here but me and the maids until tomorrow so you don't have to worry about walking in on anyone"

I was about to ask who was coming tomorrow, but the tension in the room forced my mouth shut and sent me quickly hurrying from the room and through the nearest door.

Luckily, it was into a bedroom. I sighed, walking over to the large, comfortable looking bed, and collapsing onto the thick comforter.

God-oh-god did I wish that I had underwear. I was going to have to sleep with my legs practically glued together all night.

I stared at the ceiling as I quickly retreated under the covers and relayed tonight's events in my head.

Okay so there was a ball, I was almost killed by a werewolf- but saved at the last second by Damon (whom I may or may not have feelings for), then I had my throat torn out by a vampire and Felling brother who up until now, everyone believed to be dead, then, said undead vampire brother whisked me off to his own secret castle in god-knows-where, where he continued to charm me until I completely forgot that he had almost killed me earlier tonight- and yet still, I couldn't bring myself to be angry with him, he was too cute.

I never had been able to resist an accent.

By the time that I had relived everything, I was drifting off into another deep sleep, completely oblivious to the dangers that could still be lurking around right outside my door.


	7. Chapter 7

_I never had been able to resist an accent.  
__By the time that I had relived everything, I was drifting off into another deep sleep, completely oblivious to the dangers that could still be lurking around right outside my door._

* * *

"Rise and shine, pixie, pixie" Jonathan's thick accent lilted from the doorway. I groaned and tossed in the sheets, sitting up to scowl at him.

"I'm not full pixie, you know"

Jonathan appeared offended "Thank heavens not, those pixies are simply intolerable. With their green flesh, arrogant attitudes, and _insatiable_ lust. I swear, those things are either killing something or fucking something; which is good in combination…but still, they take it too far"

I recoiled from Jonathan, raising an accusatory eyebrow as my face pinched up in distaste.

"Ew, necrophiliac" I shot out, before I could stop myself.

Jonathan just smiled amusedly at me, raising his own eyebrows "You are aware that we vampires are dead, right? So what's the difference of one dead thing having a sexual desire for another dead thing?"

"Jonathan, there are so many things wrong with that sentence that I'm feeling a tad nauseas, suddenly" I admitted, my nose crinkling.

Jonathan laughed, the sound like wind chimes on a warm summer day.

"Relax, Chloe, it was a joke. No need to go puking on my carpet" He replied airily, carrying in a tray of eggs and pancakes with an orange on the side and a glass of apple juice.

Suddenly, I didn't feel so nauseas anymore. I smiled at him appreciatively, and lifted a forkful of pancakes into my mouth.

"You'll never believe who visited me last night" Jonathan started casually, as he sat beside me on the bed, watching me eat with calculating eyes.

I could certainly guess who gave him a visit last night…

"Damon?' I offered.

The corner of Jonathan's lips twitched as he stared idly at my bedroom door and shook his head.

"No, I'd imagine, he's locked himself away somewhere, overcome with the realization and grief that I've been alive all this time and haven't uttered a word of it to him. He probably feels a great deal of betrayal by my blithe remorselessness about this whole thing" Jonathan said to himself quietly, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "Serves the impertinent brat, right"

I shook my head disbelievingly at the vampire, and waited for him to get to the point.

Jonathan smiled at me and leaned in close to murmur "It was Nathaniel"

Jonathan slowly receded and scowled at nothing in particular "It still puzzles me how he managed to find me at all. And here I thought, I had hidden my whereabouts fairly well…Ah, well. The point is, he came here, demanding to speak to you"

"What did you tell him?" I asked curiously, slightly annoyed that he _hadn't_ let me talk to Nathaniel and assure him that I was okay.

"Oh, I just cleverly replied that you were indisposed, and probably would remain so for quite sometime…" Jonathan trailed off as I glared at him.

"You're upset with me" He ventured, quietly.

"I want to go home" I seethed. "I'm tired of playing along with your little game. Nathaniel, Gabriel, and Damon mean something to me- and I will not stand by and let you hurt them. Now take me home to them, right now"

Something flashed behind Jonathan's eyes but he quickly composed himself, returning to his light, airy self.

"But my dear, it's far too late for that. The plan has already been set in motion"

I started before narrowing my eyes "What are you talking about? Jonathan, what have you done?"

He just stared at me, looking pleasantly amused and charming, even if he was being a royal asshole.

"Would you like to see?" He whispered conspiratorially, snickering like a sociopath child.

I felt the blood in my veins freeze before starting up suddenly, boiling.

Jonathan wrapped his cold fingers around my wrist, and roughly pulled me from the bed. I let out a small shriek, realizing that I still had no underwear on! Jonathan only paused momentarily, gazing at me slowly, before turning and dragging me along behind him.

He led me down the stairs to the entryway of the castle, as we approached, I could make out the figure of a girl, nude, and lying motionless on the stone floor.

It wasn't until we were standing directly above her that I actually _saw_ her.

Pale, smooth skin framed by a head of wavy blonde hair, a small heart-shaped face and all around tiny frame. The girl was me. She was the spitting image of myself, right down to the small birthmark by her/my bellybutton.

She looked…there were no words for it. Her throat had been ripped out much like mine had been, her lips were the blue color of death and her blue eyes were glazed over by a milky film. Her body was ravaged by dark purple and black bruises, and there were visible areas where her bones had been snapped.

"What have _you done_?" I demanded again, my voice cracking as I forced the vomit back down my throat. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at Jonathan. He just stared at me, the amusement never leaving his eyes. Ignoring my question, he replied:

"I'm going to send her back to my brothers. It's a really hard thing to come by, a shifter who is skilled enough to mimic even the smell of the person with whom they're resembling. This one, did an excellent job" He sighed airily.

I wanted to hit him. No, I wanted to hurt him. I _hated_ him.

"You are a monster" I said slowly, bitingly.

Jonathan leaned in close raising my chin with his fingers so that I was forced to look into his eyes.

"And what, may I ask, little lovey-love, gave you any idea otherwise?" His lips brushed against mine, before he kissed me more forcefully, it would probably bruise.

Then, Jonathan, released me and disappeared.

Leaving me to cry over the dead girl's body.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, a small voice called out to me.

_How are you so sure this will not be your fate?_ It asked. When I realized that I couldn't find an answer, my sobs became more desperate.

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

Gabriel slammed his fist against the door again.

"Damon!" He snarled "This is serious. Nathaniel never returned last night, we need to talk!"

"Leave me, brother. I do not wish to speak with you- much less see you, your very presence sickens me" Damon's silky voice called back from the other side of the door.

Gabriel pounded against the door again, this time unleashing his full power against the thing. "_Damon!_" He yelled

A few seconds later, the door was flung open, and Damon appeared in the doorway; his eyes red, and his hair messy, a thin trail of blood dripping down his chin.

"Jesus, Gabriel, is it too much to ask for a bit of peace- I'm trying to sleep!"

Gabriel was about to cop out a snide reply before he froze involuntarily. Damon had just used his name. Damon never called Gabriel by his name, it was always the stupid, condescending little nicknames- never Gabriel.

"What's happened to you?" Gabriel whispered, looking his brother up and down slowly.

Damon, was always the stoic one, the one who wasn't bothered by anything- and he was always the one who prided himself on _never, _never looking disheveled- unless on purpose. This was not the Damon that Gabriel had come to know and hate with a deep passion. This was something that Gabriel couldn't understand.

Damon growled lowly under his breath, the smell of alcohol thick on his breath

"Brother, just because I choose to ignore your thoughts, doesn't mean I can't hear them. I don't need you reminding me of how awful I look. Now what do you want?" Damon snapped.

Gabriel glared coldly "Nathaniel is missing"

Damon rolled his eyes, wiping the blood from his chin "And Nathaniel is a grown vampire, older than both of us, and able to handle himself. Now I'm going back to bed. Don't bother me for another fifty years"

Gabriel's hand slammed down on the door as Damon attempted to close it. The brother's stared at each other balefully, while they each put their weight on the door.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Damon snarled and ripped the door from its hinges, easily throwing it into the darkness of the east wing.

"Have it your way" Damon snarled, as he took the other door in his hands.

Gabriel ducked just in time as the door was swung right where his head had been.

He glared at Damon before launching himself at the other vampire- his concealed anger coming to the surface at last.

Each time his fist connected with Damon's face, Gabriel screamed at his brother mentally.

_It isn't fair!_

_Why do you get Jonathan back, while I remain with nothing?_

_It's your fault._

_I hate you._

_I wish it had been you who I'd gotten rid of, not Jonathan._

_And now, Nathaniel is missing, and that's your fault too. He was going to reason with Jonathan. He was going to get Chloe back- and now he's missing!_

Finally, when all of his energy had been drained, Gabriel collapsed to the ground beside Damon, and stared at the ceiling.

"If it's any consolation, I'm not as big a fan of myself as I let on" Damon said softly.

Gabriel chuckled softly.

Damon's confession didn't help the familiar ache in his heart when he thought of his wife, it didn't help at all.

* * *

Nathaniel Felling stared dubiously at the scene in front of him. For a fraction of a second, he was sure that his eyes had deceived him. He was sure that he had seen Chloe, lying naked and dead on the front entry of the castle, with a small look-a-like crying over her.

Then, Nathaniel quickly realized that it had been the other way around, it was the look-a-like who was dead. The real Chloe was very much alive.

He let out a small, relieved sigh before hopping gracefully to the ground in front of the two girls. Careful to make his footsteps as silent as possible.

As if sensing she wasn't alone anymore, Chloe glanced up at him- her facing lighting up like a sunrise in the dead of winter, before falling again.

"Are you another one of those shifters?" She demanded coldly.

The corners of Nathaniel's mouth twisted up into a small smile as he scooped Chloe up into a hug.

"No, it's really me. I'm getting you out of here" He claimed, brushing through her hair comfortingly.

"I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions, Nathaniel" came a familiar British accent from directly behind them.

Chloe jumped in Nathaniel's arms as they both turned to face Jonathan, whom was looking very smug at this point. Jonathan was twirling a very sharp, very threatening, wooden stake in his hands, and he took a step towards the two. As he approached, his eyes turned that eerie red color, and his fangs elongated

"But I am, very glad that you've decided to grace us with your presence once again. Perhaps this time, I can send you off with a more-" Jonathan pricked his finger against the pointed stake "lavish departure"

And before, their eyes, Jonathan raised the stake and sent it downward, flying directly towards Nathaniel's chest. Directly towards Nathaniel's heart.

* * *

**_Hehe. Cliffy! Review, and I promise to update sooner next time!_**


	8. Chapter 8

"_Perhaps this time, I can send you off with a more-" Jonathan pricked his finger against the pointed stake "lavish departure"_

_And before, their eyes, Jonathan raised the stake and sent it downward, flying directly towards Nathaniel's chest. Directly towards Nathaniel's heart._

My eyes shot wide, and the stake stopped in mid-air. Damon stood behind Jonathan, his hands forcefully ripping the stake from Jonathan's hands before he hit Jonathan over the head with it, repeatedly. I turned back to Nathaniel, needing to make sure for myself that he was alright. Once my inspection was over, my eyes met Damon's.

"Where's Gabriel?" I asked

"Right here" a familiar, velvet, voice said from directly beside me. I jumped, really starting to hate how they could always sneak up on me, and glared up at Gabriel.

"Oh good" Jonathan said as he rubbed his forehead, casting disgruntled glances in Damon's direction, "Everyone's here"

Jonathan's eyes traveled behind us, towards the front door, and he perked up, chiming: "You can come in now"

The boys didn't even glance towards the front door before they were all muttering a stream of curses and profanities under their breath.

I turned around to see a large group of giant wolves- _giant wolves_- stalking warily towards us.

I sighed, masking my inner distress with defiance "That's enough, Jonathan. You've had your fun, now just let us go"

The vampire's eyes twinkled with amusement as he stared at me, shaking his head in wonder.

"Oh, no, that's where you're wrong, lovey. My fun hasn't even started yet." He chuckled darkly.

I could feel a wolf's hot breath brush against my back and an involuntary shiver shook my entire spine. This was not good.

"If you'll all just follow me" Jonathan said, smirking as he turned and led the way into a grand room of some sort.

I trailed after him slowly, along with the other Felling brothers, getting nudged and pushed forward whenever our pace was too slow for the wolves' taste.

After an awkward and silent walk, we arrived in the Grand Room. Jonathan motioned for us to sit- as if we had a choice- before pouring himself and his brothers a glass of red wine. Or blood. I couldn't be sure.

After passing around the glasses, Jonathan reclined in his chair, completely at ease. Bastard.

Damon rolled his eyes in that overdramatic way that he always does, dragging out a sigh as he took a sip from the drink.

"What do you want?" He snarled venomously at Jonathan.

That surprised me. Even if Jonathan had almost killed me and then kidnapped me, and then plotted to make his brothers think he _had_ killed me, I still didn't expect Damon to be so hostile- Jonathan was his favorite. After pondering for a few seconds, I shrugged it off, guessing that he was probably just upset because _he_ hadn't been in on Jonathan's plan. But that didn't stop Jonathan from looking just as surprised by Damon's sudden outburst as I had.

It seemed to take Jonathan off guard for a bit, and he just sat, frozen, before slapping a tight smile on his face.

"I want many things, my brother, but mostly, I want you to pay"

"Pay for _what_?" Damon scoffed disdainfully, as if Jonathan had just suggested cleaning out a port-a- potty. "And what does Chloe have to do with any of this- you've never been one to involve outside parties"

Jonathan relaxed in his chair, shrugging lightly "I've also never been one to pass up an opportunity. But since you guys have ruined my plan, I'll just have to think up something else. You won't mind staying as my guests in the mean time, would you?"

There was a series of blurs, and I realized that Damon was struggling with Jonathan; they were both snarling and growling and flashing their fangs and before I knew it, their little squabble was over.

Damon was sprawled on the floor, holding himself up by his elbows as he stared up disbelievingly at Jonathan. Jonathan stood above Damon, looking like a demented angel of death. His eyes were flashing red as he angrily dragged a hand through his unruly hair.

"Sit down, Damon. And _do not move again_" All traces of the charming British, vampire had vanished from Jonathan's voice. Now, he sounded like he was trying to control himself from slaughtering us all.

Surprisingly, Damon obeyed Jonathan and sat beside me, his eyes never leaving Jonathan's face.

I tried to keep my face expressionless as I felt a faint probing in my mind. What the hell was Gabriel doing?

_Not, Gabriel. Me_ Damon's velvety voice said inside my head. It never ceased to amaze or terrify me how they did that.

Well what do you want? I bit back, squirming uncomfortably.

_Well, as you've probably already realized, Jonathan is insane. I'm pretty sure he's going to keep us here and torture us, and then kill us. Or he's just going to kill us._

Yeah, I've got that, idiot. He's going to kill us. So what are you going to do about it?

_I can't do anything. Jonathan is our elder, and he's our maker- we can't disobey what he says, no matter what- and even if we could, he's stronger than us._

So what do you want me to do?

_I want you to get out of here, stupid girl. Run, and find our cousins Parker and Lucy. They're in a coven in the alps, they're much older than Jonathan, but we haven't been in contact with them for several centuries. I'm pretty sure they hate us._

Well that's just great, so let me get this straight. You want me to somehow escape from this place, guarded by your crazy brother, and an entire pack of werewolves, _then_ you want me to climb mountains in search of your cousin's coven, which could hold even older and more crazy vampires- and somehow convince your cousins to come back with me and save your guys' asses- even though they hate you and probably don't care whether or not you live or die.

_Yep. I think that's about right. And Parker and Lucy hate Jonathan more than they hate the rest of us, I don't think it should be too hard._

And you don't care if Jonathan dies?

There was a slight pause from Damon and I felt a tremor of emotion run through him.

_Jonathan has been dead to me for centuries, now. Seeing him like this, insane and angry, it feels almost as if he still is. I don't want to ruin my memory of him any more than it already has been- which means the faster he's taken care of, the faster things can get back to normal._

Somehow, I sense that things were never quite normal for you guys. Ever.

The only thing that answered me was Damon's silent laughter.

* * *

After Jonathan had finished with his rant about…well, I wasn't really paying attention to what he was ranting about. Damon was kind of distracting. But afterwards, Jonathan told us of the new plan he had come up with. Basically, it involved us all being locked up in the dungeon Jonathan had built in the basement. In the same cell. There, he informed us that he wasn't going to feed any of us, and that the game would be who would finally snap and kill me out of hunger.

Honestly, I thought all of his little "games" were retarded and not very thought out. I mean, there was always a loop hole. It was possible for a vampire to feed from a human without killing them. Damon and I had proven that a few nights ago. Besides, it takes awhile for vampires to get uncontrollably hungry.

So why did Jonathan think that as soon as he put us in the cell, there was going to be some sort of blood frenzy?

I kept my mouth shut and leaned back against the cold stone walls. Nathaniel sat beside me, and Damon sat directly across from me, while Gabriel sat in the darkest corner of the cell.

I raised my eyebrows at Damon curiously "Well? Since you seem to have all the ideas, how the hell do we get out of here?"

Damon gave the cell a cursory glance, a small smile tugging up his lips. "It's not _we_ we're trying to get out. It's you"

I groaned, quickly dousing the urge to bang my head against the wall. I had really hoped he had given up on that whole thing.

Ignoring me, Damon stepped towards the barred window that rested several feet above my head. He peered out, jeans brushing against my hair, before backing up, a calculating look on his face.

Narrowing his eyes, Damon gave the bars a tentative pull. There was a screeching sound as the bars gave way, followed by the sound of stone crumbling.

I flinched, covering my head protectively as I was pelted by small rocks, and glared up at Damon.

He shrugged innocently and tossed the bar aside, leaving enough room in the window for a very small person to climb out. Large enough for me, probably.

"That was easy" He muttered.

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard of the saying 'a little too easy', " Gabriel growled "As in a trap. A hundred bucks says she doesn't make it ten feet before she's mauled by a werewolf and tossed right back in here"

Damon raised an eyebrow, looking amused "Well, aren't we the little optimist"

"Shut up" That retort came from all of us. Damon rolled his eyes and motioned towards me impatiently.

"C'mon, hurry up. I'd rather not wait until the very last minute."

"Shut up, Damon." Nathaniel snapped wearily "She's not going anywhere. It's too dangerous"

Damon's eyes darkened "Oh yeah, sure, and being here, locked in a cell with several soon-to-be-starving vampires isn't dangerous at _all_" He said caustically.

Nathaniel clenched his jaw but said nothing; and he didn't have to, Gabriel started up right where he left off.

"Even if she does escape, she'll never survive." He said bluntly "she has no money, no clothes, no food, and no means of transportation"

Damon pursed his lips at this, eyes narrowed in concentration. After a few moments of silence, he seemed to brighten. "What about that centaur I met a few years back? What was his name…Bo? Boa-"

"It's Boian, and there's no fucking way that she's going with that thing. Ever. No fucking way" Gabriel snarled, immediately angry.

Damon's face became an unreadable mask as he spoke "But if he could help-"

"No _fucking way_." Gabriel raged. "The last time that blasted beast was around, he raped and killed _four_ of our maids- and you want to send her out their with _that_"

I shuddered nervously and raised wary eyes to Damon. He stared back with growing resignation, within a few seconds, he was back to sitting on the ground across from me.

"You're right" He sighed "I guess, all that's left now is to sit, and wait to die"

Damon's words registered with me, yet I couldn't bring myself to be scared. Somehow, I knew that neither of us were going to give up on living, that easy. The small smirk on Damon's face was proof of that. But then another though occurred.

Just because Jonathan wouldn't succeed in killing us, doesn't mean that we would come out of this thing okay. Jonathan had made it obvious that he had no problem with hurting any of us, in fact, he seemed intent on doing exactly that. Hurting us.

A sudden hatred surged in me towards the vampire. Damn him. Damn him for taking me away from a place where my biggest worry was trying to figure out whom I liked more; Gabriel or Damon. Now I had to worry how the hell we were going to get out of this thing alive.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I turned my attention to Nathaniel, who was being extremely quiet and looked tired.

"Are you okay?" I asked

Nathaniel nodded slowly "I would have made sure to get something to drink if I knew I was going to be locked up in here this whole time. It's weird, I'm _already_ getting thirsty"

Damon's eyes snapped up and he stared at Nathaniel as if he had just given us the clue to something vital.

"That's it!" Damon hissed "Damn, he's good- I should have seen it coming"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, as realization dawned on Gabriel's face, quickly followed by Nathaniel's.

Was I always the last one to get things figured out?

"I knew that wine tasted funny…" Damon trailed off.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked.

"Jonathan" Gabriel replied grimly "He put something in our wine to make us thirsty"

Very, slightly, Nathaniel moved away from me. Was it already that bad?

_Yeah _Damon replied mentally

"Yeah" Gabriel said aloud.

Rather than yell at them for invading my privacy, I crawled over to the far corner of the room and stared at the three Felling brothers, hoping that would ease their discomfort a bit.

It didn't.

Another shudder shook my body as I realized that soon, they would be staring at me out of blood red eyes; consumed with thirst. And I'd be like an ice cool glass of lemonade on a hot day.

I squeezed myself tighter into the corner, trying to keep myself calm.

This wasn't good. I hadn't taken them being murderously thirsty into account when I said that vampires drink from humans without killing them, all the time.

I looked down at my hands as they wrung my shirt carefully. Holy Shit, I still don't have any underwear on! Seriously, how had I ever managed to forget that?

Gabriel and Damon's head snapped up in response to my thought and I was only half surprised to see that it wasn't their eyes looking back at me.

They were the red eyes of a thirsty hunter.

A predator.

And, not really surprising at all, they were zeroed in on me; gleaming hungrily.

* * *

**Hey ya'll, sorry for the long wait but I haven't really had time to write lately. Plus, I had a really hard time writing this chapter- I'm not happy with it at all. Review, anyway and tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

_I looked down at my hands as they wrung my shirt carefully. Holy Shit, I still don't have any underwear on!_

_Gabriel and Damon's head snapped up in response to my thought and I was only half surprised to see that it wasn't their eyes looking back at me. _

_They were the red eyes of a thirsty hunter. A predator. And, not really surprising at all, they were zeroed in on me; gleaming hungrily._

My eyes widened in response and I tried to squeeze myself further against the corner. Damon lowered his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. When he looked back up at me, his eyes were their normal, clear, blue.

"How'd you do that?" I asked. Damon stood, glaring at Gabriel warningly and lifted me to my feet.

"I learned how to keep an extra supply of energy ready in case of situations like this" Damon replied blandly "And under these certain circumstances, it comes in handy and adds an extra bit of urgency" He paused to lift me towards the window, and began shoving me out, despite my horrified glares.

Once I was on the leafy grass outside the dungeon, Damon appeared behind the window.

"Okay, I'm going to use my last bit of energy to get out" Damon said "Once I'm out, run like hell- because I'm going to need to kill something"

Before I could even ask him what the hell was going on, Damon disappeared and a thick mist made its way through the window. I didn't think, I didn't even pause to stare in awe, I was running at top speed.

Normal Damon was scary- but hungry Damon was flat out terrifying.

I had dashed towards the trees and as soon as I was under their cover, I was dragged to the ground and rolled onto my back.

I stared up at Damon, panting heavily as he held me in place.

"You really have to work on your cardio" He muttered as a drop of red blood dribbled from his chin and on to my chest. He stared at the small red dot as if contemplating licking it off my skin. I quickly pushed him off of me, murmuring something about 'now not being the best time'

He rolled his eyes and wiped the remaining blood from his chin.

"So what are we doing exactly? And why would Jonathan even put us in a cell with a window if he knew you could escape?" I asked.

Damon smiled smugly "He didn't know I could escape" He replied cheerfully "My powers have developed quite well in Jonathan's absence- I doubt even he could do that little parlor trick"

"You still haven't answered my first question"

"Well, I thought the answer would be obvious. We're escaping. I just had to make sure that you were far enough away when I get Gabriel and Nathaniel out; they have a harder time suppressing their hunger…well, Gabriel does anyway."

I frowned but said nothing, instead, making myself busy by climbing up a tree to lounge in the branches.

"Well hurry up, so we can get the hell out of here" I sighed, closing my eyes.

Damon smirked "That's the thing, we may be gone awhile, that drink made us more hungry than we realized- it may take an hour or so to quench our thirst- so just make yourself comfy; we'll be back soon"

I grumbled once Damon was out of sight. And soon, I fell asleep.

_It was a weird dream. Not like my usual. This was different, it was dark and scary in the room where I was lying. I was faintly aware of being naked- and freezing, but there was another sensation surging through my entire body. It was…incapable of being described. And then, Jonathan was there, looking down at me with a sadistic smile. "Well, it looks like you took to it better than I thought" he murmured against my hair before bursting out into a cackling laugh._

I shivered against the tree branch, and turned over, trying to force myself into one of my more peaceful dreams.

_Wake up_

The voice was raspy and small, like the sound of wind brushing against the leaves on a tree.

_**Wake up**_ it commanded again. My eyes shot open and I sat up against the tree, glancing around curiously.

_Run, the beast is coming!_

I sat there drowsily, letting the words sink in before understanding slapped me in the face; and it came in the form of a tree branch. The trees were talking to me…and hitting me, apparently.

_Go! It's getting closer!_

With the next blow, I fell from the tree and directly onto my ass. I stood up slowly, rubbing my butt as I glared at the tree that had thrown me onto the ground.

_Run, you stupid girl!_

I ran quickly in the direction that lead away from Jonathan's castle, when the beast suddenly made its presence known. It stalked quietly towards me, appearing from behind the brush and foliage. I bit my lip as I began running through plans of evasion, and the werewolf stalked closer still. I edged towards a large, sturdy, looking branch on the ground when the werewolf suddenly shifted, growled, and faded- leaving a tall, handsome man behind. He had his hands up in the symbol of surrender as he walked towards me. I grabbed up the branch, and swung it warningly.

"I'm not here to hurt you." The werewolf assured "I came to help"

I snorted out a laugh and continued to glare at the beast.

"Fine, don't believe me." The man huffed, as if he were offended "I don't care"

He leaned casually against a tree and began examining his nails, glancing at me every now and then through thick, dark, lashes and hooded gold eyes.

"I've got all night" He announced.

I frowned at him and took a wary step closer, still clutching the wooden branch in my hand.

"Who are you?" I asked, curiously.

The man flashed me a brilliant smile before bowing low.

"The name's Peter," He replied "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance"

I ignored him and shot off my next question "What do you want?"

"I came to get away from crazy Jonathan over there; he's not going to be happy when he sees his prisoners have escaped."

"He's the idiot who left us in a cell with windows…"I muttered to myself

Peter grimaced, but chuckled softly "He's not exactly…all there these days"

Peter's eyes rose from my own to gaze directly behind me. I turned to see Damon, Gabriel, and Nathaniel approaching; all of them looking every bit the predatory killers people made them out to be.

"Well, well, what've we got here?" Damon mused aloud, sauntering around me and coming to a stop in front of Peter.

Peter raised an eyebrow, his golden eyes twinkling, but said nothing. Damon frowned, cocking his head to the side as he said "hm"

"You're odd" Damon muttered

Peter shrugged, and went back to leaning against the tree "So I've been told" He replied silkily.

Damon turned back to me, his eyes dark and calculating.

"I'm not much a fan of werewolves" Damon admitted.

"What a coincidence, " Peter gasped, feigning shock "Bloodsuckers get on my damn nerves; you folk are always whining about something"

"_I'm not much a fan of werewolves_" I mocked in a whiny voice, laughing. Damon glared as Peter snickered.

"Yeah, whatever" Nathaniel sighed "Can we just get the hell out of here already"

Peter's eyes lifted to Nathaniel's and he raised his brows, staring approvingly. Gabriel scoffed aloud, glaring disdainfully at Peter as he listened to his thoughts.

"Gross" Gabriel whispered as he turned to Damon.

"I'm taking Chloe" Damon said before anyone could even speak, he turned to me, raising his eyebrows as if he were challenging me to argue. I didn't.

He smirked in my direction at nothing in particular and in a flash was directly in front of me. Without a word, Damon took my by the arm and swung me around so the I was on his back, piggy-back style.

He turned back to me, smirking. "I would hold on tight, this is going to be a bumpy ride"

I rolled my eyes, resting my chin on his shoulder "Just get on with it" I snickered.

* * *

_**Please excuse the shortness and delay in updating, guys. I seem to be going through a phase, and have lost all inspiration towards this story- even after going over the entire outline with my sister.  
Give me some inspiration and review! I'll try super, super hard to make the next chapter long, interesting, and updated quickly! And again, I apologize for the shortness- I don't usually put chapters up that are less that 2,000 words- but if I hadn't then you guys would have had to wait a whole helluva lot longer for it. I wanted to give you something :)  
**__**And I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or added this story to their alerts; to say I was surprised, would be a massive understatement.**_

_**-Madeline**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Okay, so I felt really bad about only doing a three page chapter, and after all of your reviews- I got my inspiration back! I figure with this, and the other chapter both of them would about equal the normal size of chapters for this story. So read, enjoy, and tell me how much you love me in your reviews afterwards!**_

_**P.S. I also changed my penname in case some of you didn't already notice lol. I do that; sticking with the same penname bores me. So don't freak or anything it's still me, Madeline. Only now it's Swan's Catastrophe hehe**_

* * *

_Without a word, Damon took my by the arm and swung me around so the I was on his back, piggy-back style._

_He turned back to me, smirking. "I would hold on tight, this is going to be a bumpy ride"_

_I rolled my eyes, resting my chin on his shoulder "Just get on with it" I snickered._

We didn't stop running- well, rather, _Damon_ didn't stop running until we were well out of tracking range. Damon and Nathaniel were sure that Jonathan would be able to find us, but they assured that Jonathan wouldn't try anything until he knew what we were up to.

"Speaking of which…" I said, as I sat on the sidewalk of a small town "What _are_ we up to?"

Damon gave me a once over, as if he were questioning my intelligence "I thought that the plan was implied, especially after I repeated it for you several time already"

Yep, definitely questioning my intelligence.

"So you mean, we're still going to find your cousins that hate you in a vampire coven up in the freezing mountains and hope that they agree to help destroy Jonathan?" I asked, just making sure.

Damon's glare warranted no reply.

I sighed and leaned back against Gabriel's chest as he lounged beside me.

"Sounds like a stupid plan to me" I muttered "You should at least have a back up plan- seeing as Jonathan can control you and everything"

Another glare from Damon. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned towards Gabriel.

"Someone's in a pissy mood" I whispered conspiratorially. Gabriel chuckled, pinching my ear.

"This is how he's always like. Only about ten times worse" Gabriel murmured.

"I can here you both- and I will kill you. Shut-up"

At that, Gabriel and I exchanged glances before bursting into obnoxious laughter. Damon fumed, and, with the grace of a ballet dancer rose before stalking off.

Gabriel turned to me and shrugged lightly "Was it something we said?"

I snickered, smacking him lightly on the arm as I glanced over at Peter and Nathaniel. The two seemed to be in deep conversation about something.

It almost looked like they were…flirting?

_Don't tell Damon, he'll flip his shit._ Gabriel's mental voice echoed, waeily.

I stared wide-eyed at Gabriel

"You mean-"

_Nathaniel and Peter are gay? Duh, I'm a mind-reader. Besides, only a blind person wouldn't be able to see it. Damon knows about Nathaniel, but if he finds out that Nathaniel fancies himself a werewolf- Damon will __**literally**__ flip his shit._

I raised a speculative eyebrow at Gabriel.

'And how, exactly, does one go about flipping their shit?' I thought towards him

Gabriel flashed me a wicked grin. _Sorry, pixie-dust, seeing Damon in that kind of mood isn't for the faint of heart._

"Fuck you, Felling" I hissed with narrowed eyes, despite the small smile on my face.

Gabriel shrugged innocently.

"It's for your protection" He insisted

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to Peter and Nathaniel.

Almost immediately, Peter raised his eyes to me, noticing my staring. He smiled faintly and wiggled his fingers around in a small wave. I smirked at the werewolf, liking him already, before he turned his attention back to Nathaniel.

After a few more minutes of loitering around on the sidewalk, Damon returned with two bags full of something. He tossed them to me, seeming to be in a better mood, and smirked.

"Eat up" He commanded.

I opened the bag to see a warm, fresh, cheeseburger, a medium order of curly fries, and a chocolate milkshake. But the best part was in the second bag. Underwear, socks, and sweatpants. I was finally going to have underwear.

I'm pretty sure my mouth started watering right then and there. Before anyone could say anything, I walked quickly into one of the small alleys and dressed hurriedly.

The rest of the conversation I took in while ravaging my food; receiving amused looks from Damon the entire time.

"You seem to be in a better mood" Nathaniel commented, voicing my thoughts exactly.

"I'm always in a better mood after I've fed." Damon sighed lazily. Peter raised an eyebrow as he walked to stand beside me and Nathaniel.

For a split second, I could have sworn I saw Damon's eyes flit from Nathaniel to Peter and narrow ever so slightly. My heart froze in my chest- and then Damon's eyes were on me, along with every other man nearby.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked, as my heart unfroze and began pumping wildly and erratically in my chest.

I glanced back at Damon. Whatever look he'd had before was gone now.

"I'm fine" I said smoothly, taking another sip of my milkshake "Just thought I saw something"

You'd think someone had just taken out a bazooka and aimed it at us, the way all of their heads shot up. I mentally winced. Wrong lie, wrong lie.

After a few seconds of complete and utter silence, all of them listening, they seemed to relax and Nathaniel turned back to me.

"It was probably one of the townspeople" He said lightly. I hurriedly agreed, apologizing for freaking them all out.

At least I knew that right now, while I was with them I was probably one of the safest people on earth- or the most endangered.

I looked over towards Damon and our eyes met. It sent a small, thrilled, shiver down my spine, but I ignored it.

"So how long until we get to stop again?" I groaned

"Not until we're there" Damon replied "It'll only be an hour or so"

I blanched, feeling the strong urge to cry.

Contrary to popular belief, the bag of a vampire is not the most comfortable or efficient means of travel. I don't know about other vampires, but Damon does not dodge branches and trees- no, _he fucking tears through them_- like some maniac beast. The vampire flashed me a toothy grin and raised his eyebrows teasingly.

"You can ride with me this time" Peter offered.

I brightened at that thought. Riding on the back of a warm, fuzzy, gargantuan dog had always been a little dream of mine.

Damon narrowed his eyes "You better keep your paws off her, mongrel. No inappropriate touching. I know how you werewolves are, always taking your liberties with women while you're in dog form. Well I'm going to say this right now, if you lick her face or any other part of her body- I'll cut your tongue off"

Nathaniel and I gave each other disbelieving looks at Damon's hypocrisy.

So it's not alright for werewolves to take liberties with women while in wolf form- yet _Damon_ is allowed to take liberties with women whenever the hell he wants? What a load of bull.

Peter chuckled anyway, an easy smile coming to his face "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Chloe's…not my type"

"She better not be" Damon growled under his breath as he walked towards the isolation of the forest.

Peter turned to me and winked, chuckling softly as we followed Damon.

"He's a bit protective, eh?" Peter laughed. I laughed along.

"I would call if possessive. Which is kind of ironic, because _he doesn't own me!_" I yelled the last part loud enough for Damon to hear.

Peter snickered beside me and shrugged.

Once we were under the cover of the forest, we took another few minutes to rest and relax and then Peter shifted into wolf form.

He was a big ass wolf. I needed Gabriel's help to climb onto Peter's back. Once I was settled, Peter glanced back at me and motioned for me to hold on to the fur near his shoulders. I obeyed, and then we were off- again.

It was weird, watching the area change slowly before my eyes. And to say it was cold up in the mountains would be an understatement. It was snowing.

Before we had even reached the coven, although we were close, everyone froze and sniffed the air.

I stared at them curiously before they all took off running towards the coven at a speed that I had thought to be impossible.

When we finally arrived, there was a look of pure horror on every one of our faces.

It was still snowing here, but the snow was mixing with something else. Ashes.

Standing on the front steps of the burning mansion was Jonathan, smiling wickedly at us.

With blithe nonchalance, he raised two heads; completely detached from their bodies. A pretty girl and a handsome boy.

Their cousins.

"Damon, Nathaniel…Gabriel. I've been expecting you all for quite some time now. Why don't we have a little chat, Hm?"

Oh, balls.

* * *

**_Review! Review! Review!_**


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N : I know this one's short, but I just finally got my computer back and wanted to give you guys something before I get back into school-mode. Don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts!**_

_

* * *

__Standing on the front steps of the burning mansion was Jonathan, smiling wickedly at us._

_With blithe nonchalance, he raised two heads; completely detached from their bodies. A pretty girl and a handsome boy._

_Their cousins._

"_Damon, Nathaniel…Gabriel. I've been expecting you all for quite some time now. Why don't we have a little chat, Hm?"_

_Oh, balls._

Out of nowhere, Damon yanked at my arm and pulled me onto his back.

I guess we're making a run for it then.

"_Stop. Right. There_" Jonathan snarled, the inhuman sound sent shivers through my entire body.

Without any hesitation, Damon, Nathaniel, and Gabriel all froze. Peter and I exchanged a panicked glance and turned warily to Jonathan. He wasn't paying us any attention. Instead, he was pacing between his brothers.

"I hoped you'd come after our dear lost cousins for help." Jonathan sing-songed, the wicked smile was still on his face. Idly, almost absently, Jonathan backhanded Gabriel's frozen form and sent his brother flying into a tree some thirty yards away.

I grit my teeth but stayed where I was. If we had any hope of defeating Jonathan, we had to be smart about it. Especially since he could use Nathaniel, Gabriel, and Damon like puppets.

Damon snarled loudly and Jonathan raised an eyebrow, coming to stand in front of his brother.

"What was that, Damon? What did you say?" Jonathan teased, cupping his palm around his ear and leaning towards Damon.

Damon, somehow managed to inch forward and use his teeth to tear Jonathan's ear off.

With crazed eyes, Jonathan raised Damon by his throat and plunged his other hand deep inside Damon's abdomen.

Without thinking, I launched myself at Jonathan and beat him as roughly as I could; gouging his eyes, tearing at his already injured ear, ripping at his hair…It didn't seem to affect him, but it still made him release Damon- whom fell to the ground looking way too pale against the dark crimson liquid that soaked his shirt. For a few seconds, I was deathly afraid for Damon, but the slow rise and fall of his chest forced me to relax a small amount.

My relief wasn't long lived, Jonathan whirled around and glared at me with furious red eyes. Before my eyes could even register the movement, Jonathan back-handed me, and sent me sprawling; forcing a small cry from my lips. If I ever thought this fucking lunatic had any redeeming qualities at all, they were gone now.

God damn, crazy vampire.

My head was throbbing, making me feel nauseas with a faint undertone of wanting to die. As much as I wished to escape Jonathan, I'd rather get his brothers to safety first. After all, _they_ were the ones that Jonathan really wanted to hurt. I clutched my cheek, turning my head slowly to glare at the insane vampire. He was watching me with mild interest.

Well, not so much me, but the small trail of blood falling down my chin from where his blow split my lip. I hated him, and I made sure to voice that thought as I wiped the blood from my chin.

Jonathan, had me back on my feet and was softly caressing the broken flesh near my lip within the blink of an eye. It was unnerving the way that he didn't try to slow his movements like his brothers did.

He brushed the hair from my face and tightened his grip in my blonde locks when I tried to move away. Oh, I hated him.

"Get your hands off me!" I snapped, trying to swat him away. His hand came to rest at my jaw with brutal force. For a brief second I was worried that he would break it, but after a small second, Jonathan's grip loosened.

It would bruise. That was for damn sure.

I glared at him as he stepped away; a sad, almost, remorseful look on his face.

"You don't hate me, love. Not yet. Not even close" He said softly, before the mask of indifference and pure insanity was reapplied.

I didn't want to ponder what his words meant, and Jonathan didn't give me time to. He was a sudden blur again, and he quickly disposed of the now rousing Gabriel, the hostile Nathaniel, and the perplexed Peter within a few seconds. I wasn't even able to make sure that they weren't fatally injured before Jonathan advanced on me. Just before he reached me, Jonathan was forced to stop. We both glanced down to see Damon's pale hand wrapped tightly around Jonathan's ankle. Damon barely managed to lift his head and snarl at me to run, before exhaustion took a hold of him.

Without a thought, I darted away. It doesn't matter how much I didn't want to leave them all their. When Damon tells you to do something, you do it.

I didn't have to worry much about leaving them behind, I was tackled from behind as I ran and dragged roughly to the ground. I felt the sharp crack when my head connected with a rock on the ground (just my luck) and saw Jonathan's silhouette smirking down at me darkly before everything went dark.

* * *

_**Third POV**_

Damon awoke to the sound of the trees rustling anxiously in the wind. His eyes snapped open and his first thought was that he had to fucking eat something-now. His second thought, was of the gaping hole in his stomach that was healing at an infuriatingly slow pace (yet another reason to go drain some innocent dry); and his third and most troubling thought was that Chloe was gone. And so was Jonathan.

Damon was pretty sure that neither of his brothers had heard him curse as maliciously as he did then.

This whole situation was just…unpleasant.

One part of Damon- the smart part, the part that's kept him alive all these years, is telling him to forget about Chloe. There are plenty of prettier, _easier_, tastier girls out there.

The other part of Damon was strangling the more rational part and bashing it's head against a concrete wall deep within the dark recesses of Damon's mind.

Sometimes, he really hated himself.

Jonathan, had probably planned it this way of course; the conniving snake, that he was.

Jonathan knew that they would all go for Chloe, in fact, Jonathan probably _expected_ it.

It was bait, and they were all going to walk right into it. For Damon, it wasn't the simple fetish he had for rescuing damsels in distress (and then distressing them even more). This was something more personal.

Damon had _claimed_ Chloe. She was _his_, and no one else had the right to take her from him.

Damon clenched his jaw as he rose to his feet in one, swift, graceful, movement.

Gabriel glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Food?" Gabriel asked, without really saying it like a question.

"And then Chloe" Damon nodded grimly. He felt sorry for the poor bastards he would prey on tonight. He was in a mood, and he knew it- which was never a good sign. When Damon could tell that he was in a mood…nothing good happened.

"You know that it's a trap" The annoying werewolf said blandly.

Damon was about to snap that 'instead of stating the obvious and being nothing but a dead weight, the werewolf should do something that was anatomically impossible while the real monsters did what they do best' but after a warning look from Nathaniel, Damon settled for a brief warning snarl before he launched himself at the mongrel.

After a brief sibling squabble, they all took off in search of food. Nathaniel with the dog and Damon with the whiner.

This night just kept getting better and better, Damon thought to himself as his abdomen decided to heal itself the most painful way possible. Damon was starting to understand why Gabriel wanted Jonathan dead all those years ago.

With the last of his energy, Damon took off into the forest at a fast sprint.

Jonathan would pay.

He would make sure.


	12. Chapter 12

_I didn't have to worry much about leaving them behind, I was tackled from behind as I ran and dragged roughly to the ground. I felt the sharp crack when my head connected with a rock on the ground (just my luck) and saw Jonathan's silhouette smirking down at me darkly before everything went dark._

I groaned and rolled onto my side as pain exploded within my skull. This day could not get much worse. I was faintly aware of the fact that I was bleeding profusely from some unseen wound near me ribs. The pain that had started as a sharp stabbing in my head had now spread to a bleak, numb, pounding across my entire body. Everything hurt, I was thirsty, and it was cold.

I knew before I saw him, that Jonathan had taken me _again_. It was really starting to piss me off how this guy could not just leave me out of his little squabble with his brothers.

The devil soon appeared within my cage. I must have passed out because one second I was alone and then, when I opened my eyes, Jonathan was grinning down at me like a cat who'd just caught a tasty looking mouse. He cocked his head to the side as he began circling my form.

"We really should stop meeting like this" I said in a breathy rasp, resorting to sarcastic humor when all else failed.

The grin on Jonathan's face widened and he dropped down beside me; crossing his legs at the ankles and propping himself up on his elbows as he reclined against the stone floors.

"I'll stop taking you against your will, if you stop running away" Jonathan offered, using his usual charm.

My laugh was interrupted by a sudden fit of coughs. Eventually, my breathing returned to normal, and I rolled onto my back to stare at the ceiling.

Jonathan and I settled into a comfortable silence. After a few moments of neither of us speaking, I turned to look at him.

He was staring at me, his hazel eyes sparkling with some hidden amusement. I truly hated this man, with every fiber of my being- but at the same time he was a complete paradox. You could hate him, despise him, sure. But it was impossible _not _to like him. He had that charm and wit that came along with every other raging sociopath, he was just a sea of contradictions.

"Can I ask you something?" I inquired, turning the full force of my gaze on him. This, only seemed to amuse Jonathan further.

"You may" He replied curtly

After a brief silence, I spoke "Do you ever feel…remorse, for hurting people?"

Jonathan's face became wistful, but he didn't reply. When I raised my eyebrows in accusation, he smirked and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"I said you could ask me a question. You never inquired, however, if I would answer the question."

"And will you? Answer the question, I mean?"

"Which one? You've asked four, now" Jonathan grinned infectiously.

I marveled at the idea that I could have such comfortable conversations with the man who most undoubtedly, would be my death.

"So," Jonathan said pleasantly as he lifted himself from the ground in a too quick movement "before I return to my role as the devious antagonist, I'd like to ask a question of my own"

"You may precede"

Jonathan smirked at my formality before continuing in a more solemn tone.

"Which one do you care about most, of my brothers?"

I started at this; it wasn't the question I was expecting. Turning thoughtful, I brought a mental image of each Felling brother to the forefront of my thoughts. Out of the three pictures, one shone out in particular, like a blazing beacon that demanded to have my attention. I recognized the face, but knew at the same time, that I would never let _that_ certain Felling brother know what I thought of him. Neither would I let Jonathan know of my preferences; though, I didn't doubt that he already had his own ideas.

The growing smirk on his face confirmed my suspicions.

"Not going to answer the question?" He asked

"Which one, you've asked two" I retorted cutely.

I saw a familiar flash behind Jonathan's eyes, and couldn't help the shudder that shook my spine.

"I like you, Chloe" Jonathan sighed, as he raised the sleeves of his shirt to above his elbows "Which is why," He paused to crack his neck "Out of all of the terrible deeds I've done- I'm going to regret this one the most"

I felt the color drain from my face when Jonathan advanced on me with deliberate slowness. In an instant, he had his hand out, fingers extended around my throat. With a flick of his wrist, I flew into the stone walls beside me with a deafening crack, and felt agony explode from every vain in my body. A small yelp escaped my throat when Jonathan's fingers snaked through my hair and yanked me to my feet.

He caressed my face while shushing me with mock concern.

"Now, now, lovey. No need to cry, this is only the beginning."

* * *

_**Third Person POV**_

Gabriel kicked the almost dead human aside once he had his fill, and examined his brother with disinterest. As amusing as Damon's fits of rage usually were, Gabriel had more important things on his mind besides appeasing his temperamental older brother.

"Jonathan is very close to crossing a line that he doesn't want to cross" Damon growled as he stared at a brick wall.

For what reason did Damon find this particular wall so interesting, Gabriel hadn't the slightest idea. He wasn't even sure Damon knew why he was staring at it.

Gabriel chuckled "And why is that Damon? You think that Jonathan is incapable of fending for himself if you were to attack him?"

"I'm not stupid, nit-wit." Damon snapped back "I know that I would probably lose if I were to fight against Jonathan. But I also know that I would try my god-damn hardest to take Jonathan down with me"

"You would probably lose that battle as well" Gabriel commented softly.

Damon's icy eyes snapped up to Gabriel's and he could feel the full force of Damon's resentment.

"Why are you even here?" Damon snarled, "Have I not made it abundantly clear, that I dislike you."

"There's never a moment in the day when you don't remind me of it, brother" Gabriel sighed wearily. "But I guess I kind of figured that we could come together to defeat a common enemy and claim a common prize"

Gabriel didn't have time to react before Damon hurled him, like a rag doll, into the large trash bin at the end of the alley. As Gabriel recovered, Damon slammed the trash bin lid on his brother's head and took the bin in both hands before tossing it at the opposite wall. The wall that, ironically, Damon had been staring at not one minute ago.

"You figured wrong" Damon nearly screamed, giving the trash one last kick before storming away.

Gabriel sat among the filth and garbage, fuming. He let Damon get away with most things, but this time, the elder vampire had taken things too far.

Within the blink of an eye, Gabriel was back in the alleyway, storming after Damon; his eyes already swimming over with red.

"_Damon_" Gabriel yelled, appearing behind his brother and pulling the vampire up by the back collar of his shirt. He relieved himself of the weight almost immediately, throwing Damon with all the force he could muster into the street, hoping that his landing was a hard one.

Before Damon could pull himself to his feet, a large truck rolled past, crushing Damon under its tires as it went.

Gabriel stared at this with a smug expression on his face. His good humor was wiped clean away when he saw the glare that Damon was throwing him as he rose; bloody, and angry from the pavement.

"You," Damon seethed "will pay for that _Gabriel Felling_"

Gabriel was about to mutter out a snaky reply, when a very unwelcome visitor interrupted their little fight.

Both brothers turned to see a werewolf approach, with something being held within its maw.

At the same time, Nathaniel and Peter appeared. They must have seen the new wolf approach from wherever they had been.

Damon growled at the werewolf's gall to march up to him and shove the item in his hands, before running off.

"God-damn mongrel beast" Damon snarled

"Watch it" Peter warned, his eyes darkening.

Damon cocked his head to the side as he took a threatening step towards Peter.

"Excuse-me?" Damon grit out slowly. "I suggest _you_ watch it, mutt. Or I might be inclined to rip off your tail and wring your neck with it"

Gabriel rolled his eyes dramatically "Damon will you shut up and show us what the dog gave you, already"

For the first time, Damon's attention was on the box. He stared down at it before slowly, lifting the lid. Inside, was a small note:

_Save her if you can,Otherwise, I'll have myfun with what's left of her -Jonathan_

Damon moved the note aside to see what rested in the silky confines of the box. When his eyes finally registered what it was, his screams of fury echoed off of the alley walls for minutes after they were all long gone.

On the ground the box lay with the note beside it, the contents had been left inside. Resting in the silky cushion of Jonathan's gift was a pale, slender, bloody, finger. And it was unmistakably, Chloe's.

* * *

**_A/N : Review, review, review!_**


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N : New chapter up for you guys- don't forget to review! If I get alot, I'll update super soon**_

_

* * *

__Jonathan's fingers snaked through my hair and yanked me to my feet. _

_He caressed my face while shushing me with mock concern._

"_Now, now, lovey. No need to cry, this is only the beginning."_

I cowered in the corner of the room, clutching my bloody hand to my chest as I shivered involuntarily.

_Don't tell me he's back already_, I thought fearfully as I tried to disappear into the stone walls.

The figure stepped into the room, and I let out a relieved sigh when I saw that it wasn't Jonathan but a girl. And a human one, by the looks of it.

She crossed the room in three long strides and I couldn't help but flinch away when she reached for me.

"I'm not here to hurt you" She promised "I was just sent to wrap up your hand"

She held up a piece of gauze as proof, but I wasn't looking anymore. Tears had already formed a thick cover over my eyes. He had cut off my fucking finger! Now, I was some bruised, bloodied, fingerless freak.

"He's going to kill me" I said in a voice barely above a whisper. The girl reached for my hand, and I watched with morbid interest as the white material became soaked with red when it made contact with my flesh.

"He's going to kill us all" The girl sighed. I stared at her as she worked. She was definitely pretty- or had been once upon a time. Now, her black hair was matted and choppy, her skin was covered in bruises -old and new- and she looked about as frail as a porcelain doll.

I could easily overpower her in any normal circumstances. But, as circumstance would have it, Jonathan had broken both of my legs; leaving me completely helpless. That seemed to be how he liked his prey- helpless. God forbid, one of his meals had the strength to fight back. I hated him. In fact, the only thought that kept me going was a resilient idea of only three words: Jonathan will pay. In this life or the next, I would get him back.

"Look what I found, love" came a familiar British accent that I would not soon forget. I looked to the doorway to see Jonathan leaning against the doorframe, holding a pair of sheep shears.

The color (what little of it was left) drained from my face as Jonathan took another step into the room. The girl tending my hand stiffened at the sound of his voice, but made no sign to acknowledge his presence. It gave me strength. That strength, was quickly deflated when Jonathan was upon me with leering red eyes. He snapped the shears together, threateningly before placing the blades on either side of my throat.

"We're gonna do a little experiment" He said, appearing millimeters in front of my face. I could feel his breath brush across my face- setting the open wounds on fire. "I want to see how much you can _bleed_ before you die, little lovely love"

My eyes shot wide and I let out a panicked whimper when I felt the blades begin to close around my throat. He was going to kill me.

* * *

_**Third Person**_

Damon cursed aloud as his foot connected with a rather large boulder- mid sprint, and sent him sprawling into the creek in front of him.

_Well, that couldn't have gone any worse_ He thought to himself as he stood, finding his shirt completely soaked. He was blaming Jonathan for that one.

He wiped himself off, ignoring the chuckles of his brothers and the very annoying werewolf as he glowered at a lone flower. Damon couldn't be sure, but he was pretty positive he saw the petals begin to wilt under his glare. That little accomplishment picked up his spirits if only infinitesimally.

Right now, he was fuming. He felt like his veins were on fire, with how angry he was. There wasn't a word for the kind of violence he wanted to exact upon his brother.

"You guys go on ahead" Gabriel murmured to Nathaniel and Peter "I'll look after him"

Nathaniel frowned, glancing between Damon and Gabriel "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Are you kidding?" Gabriel replied "It's a horrible idea. But Damon is more likely to rip the head off of someone he isn't related to at the moment"

Gabriel couldn't help but glance at Peter as he said this, hoping the werewolf got the picture- and didn't provoke his brother.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, brother" Damon said from where he stood, glaring at a flower. His cool blue eyes snapped up to Gabriel's and he continued "There's a certain brother of mine whom I wouldn't mind beheading and skewering at the moment"

Gabriel couldn't manage the smirk he usually would have worn in reply to Damon's comment. He was still too shaken from that day's earlier incident with Jonathan's "present"

Instead, Gabriel nodded and appeared at the edge of the creek; beside Damon.

"Sit down. Cool off" Gabriel commanded "We'll be useless to Chloe if we all bust into Jonathan's place too angry to form a comprehensible sentence"

"Worry about yourself, boy." Damon snapped "I'm perfectly in control of myself"

Gabriel raised an amused, questioning eyebrow. Apparently, Damon was oblivious to the thick black aura of menace and malevolence that was rolling off of him in thick waves.

_I always have an aura of menace_ Damon sneered mentally _It's part of my charm_

"You're unbelievable" Gabriel sighed, shaking his head absently.

"Also part of my charm"

The brothers settled into an uncharacteristic silence. Both, with things that needed to be said, but neither wanting to be the first to bring up their bloody past.

"Do you ever regret it?" Gabriel asked finally, watching the water slip through the cracks of the rocks with idle amusement. "Doing what you did?"

"Do you regret what you did?" Damon countered

"Everyday"

Damon sighed, glaring at the rushing water "Well, there you go"

It wasn't an apology, or even really an answer. But it was good enough for Gabriel.

"Do you ever wonder the real reason I did it?" Gabriel probed "The real reason I wanted Jonathan dead?"

Damon turned to Gabriel, a pained smirk on his face "Don't tell me you wanna get all sentimental now- after however many decades"

"I wanted him dead, because I saw what was happening. I saw what would happen" Gabriel continued "You never listened to Jonathan's thoughts out of respect, or privacy, or whatever. But I could see the changes in him- even back then. He was becoming cruel, distant, _hard_-"

"That's the way we're supposed to be, Gabriel" Damon hissed vehemently "Otherwise, people will walk all over us, otherwise they'll do exactly what Jonathan is doing right now"

"Jonathan, _is insane_" Gabriel said slowly, "And so are you if you believe that vampires have the right to toy with people the way he does"

"Don't we?" Damon smirked, his cool blue eyes flashing. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Shut up. You're not fooling anyone."

Damon shrugged, standing gracefully and wiping invisible dirt from his jeans.

"We should get moving" Damon growled "Before we lose the scent of Jonathan's delivery dog"

Gabriel nodded in agreement, inwardly smirking. Apparently, Damon wasn't as cold as he liked people to believe. Gabriel couldn't help but think it had something to do with Chloe. And for that reason, he vowed that they would get her back- alive. No matter what.

If he and Nathaniel had to suffer through one more year of Damon's indifferent, insufferable, attitude…they were all going to kill each other.

_Chloe,_ Gabriel spoke mentally, knowing she wouldn't hear even if she were close by _We're coming to get you.  
_

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

I felt the blades pierce my skin, and wanted to scream, but was afraid it would cause further damage to myself from Jonathan.

"Master" the girl spoke.

I let out a small sigh of relief when the shears fell from my throat, and Jonathan turned to glare at the girl.

"_What_, Courtney" Jonathan growled, his voice making it clear that he didn't like her interruption.

"I don't think she can take much more blood loss. And if you want to keep her alive long enough for whatever it is you have planned, slitting her throat wouldn't be the best thing"

I had to hand it to the girl, she stood her ground, even with him staring at her like he might rip through her rib cage and use one of them to play 'smash the vertebrae of porcelain doll girl.'

Without warning, Jonathan struck; picking up the shears, and slicing them down the girls face.

She screamed, and he kicked her shoulder. After a few tense seconds of him glowering at the both of us, Jonathan stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Apparently, he had decided to keep Courtney in his little playroom for her outburst.

"Thank you" I said breathlessly.

She nodded as she clutched her cheek, red blood slowly dripping down her hand.

"Do you need the gauze?" I asked.

"No" Courtney replied "It's not that deep. It should stop bleeding in a minute"

"How…how long have you been here? With Jonathan, I mean"

"My entire life" She shrugged. She smiled sadly at my horrified stare.

"I know what you're thinking" She said "How am I still alive?"

I nodded "Yeah, a little bit"

Courtney's smile became softer "I guess he has a soft spot for me. I'm the only slave he ever actually talks to- or listens to, even if there are repercussions involved"

I frowned. Jonathan doesn't even have a soft spot for his own family- what could he find so special about this girl?

"I hate him" Courtney said suddenly. I nodded my agreement as we lapsed into silence.

I broke the silence only once.

"His day will come" I assured her "And on that day, he'll have hell to pay"

Courtney nodded sleepily "Hopefully, that day comes soon"

Again, I nodded my head in agreement.


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N : I'm just going to blame my lack of a gargantuan amount of reviews on the argument that no one believed me when I said I'd update super fast. Well I did, so HA! I even made this chapter super intense for you guys so review, everyone, and I'll update just as quickly for the next chapter!  
Don't say I didn't warn you- intenseness follows...  
And, just a brief little disclaimer, cause I never do them: I own everything. Except for the pictures of the characters on my profile. But still, EVERYTHING._**

* * *

I awoke the next morning to Courtney's soft snoring and was more than a little surprised. It was rare that Jonathan didn't pop up during my sleeping to taunt me about my weakness. I let myself adjust to the stiffness of my back and could tell, without looking in a mirror, that I was in bad shape. It couldn't be long now until Jonathan finished with the rest of me. My eyes searched the rest of the small cell until they landed on what I had been searching for- a tray of food. It couldn't really be classified as food, not when I had been spoiled by the incredible cooking abilities of Damon and Gabriel these past few weeks; but bread and milk would have to do. I stared down at my legs, now wrapped in a thin gauze cast, and frowned. How demeaning would it be to drag myself across the room for some bread and a glass of milk? I was amazed that my pride had managed to remain intact after my ordeal, and my pride _wouldn't_ let me lower myself to such humiliation.

Damn Jonathan. Damn him to the deepest pits of hell.

There was a small sound from Courtney, and a few seconds later, she stirred. Her deep brown eyes met my frowning ones and I quickly morphed my face into a smiling one.

"Morning, sunshine" I said playfully, waving my wrapped hand at her. She smirked at me, wiping nonexistent drool from her face.

"Glad to see you've kept your good humor" Courtney replied, crossing to the corner of the room and sliding the tray of food my way.

I gave her a grateful glance before devouring the bread and milk.

"Do you have any idea how long I have left?" I asked her curiously. Courtney shrugged, her matted hair brushing across her shoulders.

"_Master_ Jonathan doesn't speak of his plans to slaves" Courtney said, somehow managing to make the word "Master" sound insolent.

"I think I'm freaking myself out more by waiting for it, then I am knowing that it's coming" I said honestly.

"What about his brothers?" Courtney asked "Jonathan was sure they would come for you"

"They will" I conceded "But, they'll be pretty helpless against Jonathan, seeing as he can control them and all. He probably just wants them to come to my rescue so that he can kill me in front of them and then finish them off himself"

Courtney nodded "That sounds like something he would do"

"That doesn't give me much time" I whispered, more to myself than anyone "The boys should be here any minute now"

"If," Courtney said quietly "Jonathan hasn't done something to them- to slow them down"

I shook my head, my thoughts far away. "No" I replied "This is what Jonathan wants. His brothers are doing exactly what he wants them to" I said, sounding more sure of myself than I felt.

Courtney and I looked at each other, exchanging a brief glance before we both resumed our usual positions in the corners of the room.

This was it.

This was the end.

* * *

_**Third Person**_

"It can't be long now, right?" Peter asked, looking to Nathaniel for confirmation. Nathaniel shrugged helplessly, and turned to Gabriel.

"How in the hell should I know?" Gabriel said in reply to his brother's thoughts. Nathaniel glared at Gabriel and bit down hard on a snarky reply, instead handling the situation like Damon would have, and resorting to violence and public humiliation.

"Where'd the crazy one go?" Peter asked, quickly diffusing the argument that was about to erupt between Nathaniel and the younger vampire. Both Felling's snapped to attention and searched for their missing brother.

"You should've been watching him" Gabriel muttered under his breath. Nathaniel knew Gabriel was directing the comment to him, and chose to ignore it- not before slapping Gabriel upside the head, though. The youngest Felling narrowed his eyes but turned back to search the wide expanse of trees in front of them.

"Damon" He called "Did you really have to go that bad that you couldn't wait until we got to Jonathan's? I'm sure that, feud aside, he would have let you use the restroom before he kills us all"

"Shut up you twit" Damon snapped, appearing out of thin air, and absently smoothing out his shirt.

Gabriel gave Damon a goofy grin as he brushed a hand through his hair.

"Vampires are so weird" Peter whispered as he watched the entire exchange.

"No," Nathaniel replied, coming to stand beside him "I'm pretty sure that's just our family"

Peter spared Damon and Gabriel one last glance before taking a few steps away.

"Figures" He muttered, eyes on the eldest of the three brothers. Nathaniel smiled at the werewolf and watched as he morphed into a giant dog- as vampires liked to call it.

Peter's morph was the push they all needed. In the blink of an eye, they were all back to running at top speed; tracking the scent of the werewolf that had delivered Chloe's finger, and hoping that the damn thing wasn't leading them on a wild goose chase.

* * *

It was a few hours later when they found it. They recognized the area immediately, and wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"He's fucking sick" Damon hissed through a clenched jaw. His face was so contorted in fury that Gabriel was surprised he hadn't morphed into Mr. Hyde yet. It would have been amusing had Gabriel not felt his own fury echoing Damon's exact expression. The smell of werewolf and Jonathan was strong and pungent here. There was also the faint smell of Chloe amongst other humans.

The brothers and accompanying werewolf were standing at the top of a hill. The hill over-looked a small valley, which nestled a nice sized cottage. The cottage had been the boys' summer home when they had been young- and human. But now, Jonathan had turned it into some dark, twisted version of the cottage they used to know. Lining the perimeter of the house were long stakes with the heads of humans attached to the top. The grass was stained with dark puddles of blood from some poor, unknown creature, and the windows of the cottage were blacked over and caked with blood.

Their brother, ever the artist, had created some barbaric, violent, nightmarish place of the cottage they once spent their summers. It sent Damon into a rage to see the building defiled like it was.

"Fucking sick" He ground out again, staring past the stakes of beheaded victims and at the small army of werewolves that were now forming a perimeter around the cottage.

"Well, here comes the welcoming committee" Gabriel groaned sarcastically before adding "I'm really starting to hate life"

Damon's cool blue eyes snapped to Gabriel's and he snarled "Well after we're done with these dogs I'll be happy to fix that for you. How does ending your life, permanently, sound?"

"Just peachy, Damon dear" Gabriel growled, a brilliant contrast to his too sweet smile.

Damon shook his head angrily and took a threatening step towards Gabriel. Nathaniel quickly got between the two- reminding Damon to focus his rage on the werewolves and on Jonathan.

And that was the end of it.

"Well," Gabriel said cheerily "Let's get rid of these werewolves so that Damon can hurry up and end my sorry life, permanently"

Damon actually managed a small, smile at this "Don't tempt me, Gabby"

Gabriel raised a curious eyebrow when Damon made the shameful nickname sound like an endearment.

"Let's go get the big bad wolves" Nathaniel sighed,

"Sounds like a plan" Gabriel replied, as Peter clawed at the ground anxiously.

"Let's go get Chloe" Damon said softly.

* * *

_**Chloe's POV**_

"Your boyfriend's here" Jonathan teased lightly as he sauntered into the room. Without even giving Courtney a second glance, Jonathan swept me up in his arms; a romantic gesture had it been done by any other man.

"Time to finish the job" He sighed, touching my face with a gentleness that I had hardly experienced since I had been kidnapped by Jonathan.

"I'm afraid this'll hurt a bit, love" He said softly.

I glared past him at the far wall of the cell.

"Do your worst, leech" I spat.

Jonathan's cool gaze turned dark, as red began to swirl in the depths of his irises. I shivered involuntarily, and turned away.

"As you wish" He replied before sinking razor fangs deep into my flesh. The choked cry died in my throat as an entirely new kind of pain spread to every surface of my body.

I began swirling in and out of consciousness as Jonathan drained me.

There was blackness, and then I could make out Courtney trying to pull Jonathan off of me, more blackness, Courtney in a heap on the ground; a small puddle of blood forming near her head. More blackness.

And then, there was nothing. I felt myself slipping away, felt something slipping down my throat. My own blood?

I felt the pressure of the ground as Jonathan carelessly dropped me, but there was a numbness that kept me from feeling much else. I felt my heart, pumping futilely as it struggled to keep me alive. I felt my lungs, expanding as they tried to accommodate the large breaths of air I inhaled. I tried to hold on, tried to fight, but soon I realized I could do nothing but give in. I was taking the easy way.

Soon, the blackness became my world. I was alone. I wasn't hurting. I was content.

One brief flash is the darkness, sprang me out of my selfishness.

Pale skin, angular face framed by black hair, cool blue eyes…

I didn't want the blackness anymore. Not when I could still fight. Only now, I was fighting to hold on for a completely different reason.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N : I was planning on posting this chap earlier today (at like three in the morning) but I opted to go out and watch the meteor shower instead ^_^  
It's a little short, and I apologize for that, this chapter was kind of hard for me to write, but I promised you guys a quick update so it's the best I got lol. Believe me, I practically had to pummel it out of my muse.  
Anywhoo, this story is coming to a close soon, so it would be cool if you guys wanted to tell me what you want to happen. I already know what I want to do, so unless your idea is completely incredible- I think i know how i'm going to end it. I just want to see if anyone has an inkling of what i'm planning to do. If not, all the better the surprise!  
Well, that's all for now, read, review, and enjoy. I'll try to have the next chapter up by tuesday at the latest, and it will be longer than this sorry excuse for a chapter. Read and review, darlings.**_

**_- Swan_**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chloe**_

I felt like I had been submerged in oil and was trying to fight my way back to the surface, all the while, more oil was sliding down my throat, through my nostrils, into my eyelids and ears; it was dragging me back to the bottom.

I gave one last jerk, and just like that, everything stopped. Everything froze.

My heart was no longer pounding away in my ears, my breathing was no longer strained and labored; in fact, I didn't hear (or feel) myself breathing at all.

Was I dead? Had I started fighting too late?

I fluttered my eyes, and they snapped open. Above me, Jonathan was crouched and staring down at me, his fangs still visible. He cocked his head to the side, and I felt myself suck in a breath of air. Why was it that he looked more beautiful to me now, after he tried to kill me, than when he was still being semi-kind to me?

"Oy, you're awake" He cooed, lips turning up into a smug grin. I frowned at him, suddenly realizing something quite disturbing.

My fingers twitched and I counted them slowly to myself

_1, 2, 3, 4.…10. 10?_

That was about the time I started to panic. A finger just doesn't _grow_ back. It doesn't.

My body didn't react to my inner turmoil the way it usually would have though. Instead of my heart speeding up to four times the healthy rate, and my body breaking out into uncontrollable shakes, my upper lip pulled back and I growled. _Growled._

_The fuck is going on? _A voice in the back of my head screamed. Jonathan smirked and gave me the answer.

"Welcome back, newborn"

* * *

_**Third Person**_

He was close. He was so close that he could almost taste her on his lips.

Completely ignoring the werewolves that charged him when he busted through the cottage wall, Damon ran to the back hall where he could hear Chloe's heart pounding away. It wasn't a healthy sound, and that worried Damon, but after a few milliseconds of thought he shrugged it off. He could always give her some of his blood if she was that in need. He had just reached the door that he _knew_ she would be behind when everything stopped. Her breathing, her heart, her everything; gone.

Damon wasn't exactly sure what happened after that, he remembered going for the door and smashing the handle when he was unable to control his anger. Then, giving up on politeness, he tore the annoying thing from its hinges and stormed into the room.

His gaze flicked over every item in the room within a matter of semi-seconds and he paused to let everything sink in. There was a lump with black hair in the corner, from the sweet scent it gave off, Damon was guessing the lump was most likely female. Jonathan was kneeling in the middle of the room, over someone who looked remarkably like Chloe only it couldn't be. This girl was a vampire.

Damon's mind caught up with him and he did a double take on the girl lying on the floor.

Frosty blonde hair, icy eyes, pale skin, petite frame. It was like an ice version of Chloe. Damon felt himself for the first time in a very, very, long time rendered speechless.

"Chloe?" He asked in a cracked voice. Damon didn't fail to notice Jonathan's little smirk at his less than graceful entrance.

"Oh, good, Damon. You're just in time"

* * *

_**Chloe**_

I stared, unable to do much else with Jonathan still on top of me, as Damon, Gabriel, Nathaniel, and Peter were forced into the room. Damon kept sending me broken little looks and I felt like something inside of me broke with him.

God damn Jonathan.

I turned an icy glare on the vampire in question, still trying to wrap my mind around the thought of me being what he was- being _made_ by him. Jonathan just smiled pleasantly back at me, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that I was trying to murder him with my eyes.

"Remember when I asked you who it was that you cared about most?" Jonathan whispered, leaning in close to speak into my ear.

I continued to glare.

"Answer me" Jonathan growled "I command you"

And still I glared. Jonathan rolled his eyes and reached for the area on my throat where he had bitten me, all the while muttering about newborns and their strong will being annoying. His hand brushed across the still raw flesh on my throat and I felt it almost immediately.

It was like a battle of wills, as Jonathan's mind forced down on mine; commanding me to cooperate. Before I could stop it, before I even realized it was happening, my mouth opened and I let out a hiss; yes.

"Now was that so hard?" Jonathan scolded, as if he were talking to a child.

Damon and Gabriel were shaking angrily in the corner, looking like they were going to set their insane brother on fire. I would help.

Jonathan stood me up and turned me to his brothers. He leaned in close and lightly brushed my blonde locks from my face as he handed me a sharp wooden stake.

"I command you to kill him. Kill the Felling you love most" Jonathan said softly. I sucked in a breath as I lost control of my body and it began to obey Jonathan's order. My grip on the stake tightened and I took a step towards the Fellings.

Damon was hardly even paying attention. Instead, he looked to be focusing very hard on something. And Gabriel and Nathaniel just kept giving each other worried looks; already knowing which Felling would die.

I took another step forward, and at the same time, there was a streak of black in the corner. With everyone's attention diverted, including Jonathan's, all hell broke loose. And I used the distraction, the brief second where I was no longer controlled by his influence to swivel around and bring the stake down towards the stunned Jonathan.

This time he wouldn't escape, this time he would die.

I would make sure of that.


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N: Alright guys, we're getting down to the wire, here. Either next chapter or the chapter after that, will be the last. So review, while you still can. I just wanted to thank everyone for the amazing feedback for this story. Thank you all, you guys rock. Also, when you get the chance, check out my other stories! I love all my reviewers and fans, but the ones who read and review all of my stories have a special place in my heart lol. So enjoy this chapter, excuse my lateness with it, review, and give me your opinion on my other stuff as well!_**

**_Love you all,_**

**_- Swan's Catastrophe_**

* * *

I brought the stake down, and was met with elation when I realized that it was right on target. I was going to kill Jonathan!

Damon, however, had other plans. He tackled Jonathan to the ground, rendering my attack useless since the stake hit nothing. Damon then proceeded, to punch the living daylights out of Jonathan.

Like a snake readying to attack, Damon's arm snapped back, before quickly soaring forward and connecting with enough force to crack Jonathan's skull. A small puddle of blood was forming around Jonathan's head, and I winced, turning away from the violent scene.

Three words shattered the small air of triumph that was forming around us.

"Everyone stop NOW" Jonathan screamed, somehow able to speak through Damon's attack.

A half second later, and we were all rendered frozen except for Peter and Courtney. Jonathan quickly took care of that, by dealing a devastating blow to Peter; knocking him unconscious. He didn't even bother with Courtney.

She hadn't stirred from her place in the corner.

Jonathan was fuming. You could see the anger rolling off of him in thick waves- they threatened violence.

"Due to, recent events," Jonathan began, pausing to reign in his fury "I've changed my mind" He admitted, looking to Damon and Gabriel. "I assume you two have gotten closer after these recent developments"

Gabriel and Damon glanced at each other, something passing between them in the process, and neither answered Jonathan.

Jonathan strode over to me, ripping the stake from my hands, before walking back towards Damon and Gabriel.

"Damon, kill him. Kill Gabriel" Jonathan commanded, before handing the stake over to Damon.

If my heart had still been beating it would have stopped. Now, pure panic was coursing through my veins.

_No, No, No, NO_.

For the first time, I saw a grimace on Damon's face as he was forced to take the stake. His entire body was shaking as he tried to fight the hold that Jonathan had over us.

I fought to. I needed to get free. I needed to stop this.

Damon's eyes met mine, and I could see it. He really did care about Gabriel. He didn't want to do this. I used my eyes to plead with him.

_Fight it, please fight it. Don't let him have the control._

It was there, a sudden spark in his eyes. Damon grit his teeth, and groaned as he began to slowly turn away from Gabriel and towards Jonathan.

Jonathan's fury had seized up again, and he took a threatening step towards Damon.

_Kill him, now_. I could feel the crushing will of Jonathan, myself. I could hear his demands in my own head, even though he was commanding Damon.

Damon continued to fight. He was kneeling on the ground, still shaking. He wasn't attacking Jonathan, but he wasn't attacking Gabriel either. So, I saw that as I good sign.

"You're a god damn coward" I said strongly, unleashing all of my hatred towards Jonathan in the one sentence. Jonathan turned to me with a scowl.

"You're hurt and you want revenge. But you're to much of a coward to do it yourself. So instead, you bring in innocent parties, and people who loved you, and you force them to get their hands dirty for you. So that you won't have to feel guilty. So that you won't have to live with what you've done. _You_ Jonathan, are a monster. And _you will pay_"

"We'll see, love. We'll see" Jonathan replied coolly. But I could see it. I'd gotten into his head, and that's all that mattered.

Then, he was back to crushing Damon with his will. I stared, unable to help, and glanced over at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel was staring at Gabriel with horrified eyes, they were arguing about something, and whatever it was, Nathaniel didn't like the subject.

I tried to listen over Jonathan's roaring voice in my head, but couldn't get anything.

"Stop" came Gabriel's velvety voice. "Damon, stop"

Damon's shaking came to an abrupt halt, and his head snapped up so he could glare at Gabriel.

"_What_?" Damon hissed lividly. "No, you idiot. Are you insane"

"Just do it" Gabriel said in a resigned voice.

Jonathan frowned, apparently he wasn't expecting this. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that when I opened them again this entire thing would just disappear. Hoping that I'd be back at the Felling Castle, and none of this had ever happened.

"Remember outside, when you promised that you'd end my sorry life permanently?" Gabriel asked. I forced my eyes to remain shut. I didn't want to see this. He was giving up.

"Time to keep your promise, Damon" Gabriel said softly.

There was complete silence in the room. I could feel tears falling down my cheeks, as Damon took a deep breath.

"I don't want to have your death on my hands" Damon said honestly, losing all of the arrogance and iciness that usually accompanied his voice.

"You don't have a choice" Gabriel snarled "I want you to do it. So do it"

"Gabriel, no" I sobbed, unable to keep my eyes shut any longer. He glanced at me, a small frown on his face, and shook his head. He'd made his mind up. He was going through with this.

I felt myself begin to revert into hysterics, and I began tugging at the invisible binds that kept me rooted to my spot.

_Damn Jonathan! Damn him!_

"No" Damon said finally.

"Do it" Jonathan commanded. Damon shook his head.

"DO IT!" Gabriel yelled.

Nathaniel and I were shaking our heads numbly. This couldn't be happening. Why would Gabriel want this? Why would he do this?

Damon's face was contorted in pain as he tried to fight the will of both his brother's. Then another person added their will. Nathaniel.

"Damon. Just do it. It's what Gabriel wants" Nathaniel said softly. He looked as if all of his years of life had finally caught up with him. He looked haggard.

"How can you say that?" Damon argued "How can you know"

This time, when Jonathan commanded him, Damon didn't fight. The stake came down, hitting Gabriel directly in the heart. The youngest of the Felling's, fell to the ground, and I watched in silent horror as his body turned to stone before breaking off and crumpling on the ground. He was dead.

Gabriel was dead.

I buried my head in my hands as I cried.

Jonathan stared down at his dead brother, his face a mask of complete indifference. Damon, was kneeling on the floor beside the broken pieces of stone, staring at his shaking hands with pure hatred. And Nathaniel, was staring at the stake that had been tossed into the far corner of the room. His eyes held longing.

One thing I was sure of now. If we made it out of this alive. We would never be the same.

Never.


	17. Chapter 17

**_A/N: Alright everyone, here we are. The glorious end of this journey. This will be the final chapter in the story, and I hope everyone had as much fun reading it, as I had writing it. In all honesty, I didn't even want to post this story at all, but after being beaten into submission by my sister, I had no choice. To say I was extrememly surprised by the incredible feedback that I got from it, would have been an understatement lol. You guys rock! So I hope you will forgive my cheesy-cheese-puff ending for this thing. I suck at endings. It's a sickness. And I apologize in advance, it's really bad lol.  
Alright, so without further adieu, your chapter._**

**_P.S. If you guys wouldn't mind giving me your opinion for this entire story, and your thoughts/critics in your reviews, I would appreciate it tremendously. Believe it or not, your opinions actually count with me, and I try to take them all into consideration when writing- it would be super helpful to know what everyone walked away with after reading this. So, review away!_**

**_Much love,_**

**_ -Swan's Catastrophe_**

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No one said anything for a long time. We all just stood there, staring. It felt like a giant hole had been torn through my chest. Gabriel was dead, and it was my fault. If not for me, they would have never been lured here and into the control of Jonathan. My eyes locked with icy blue ones and Damon stared at me for a few short seconds before glancing back down at his hands and shaking his head.

I felt my anger surge to the surface, and its full force was directed towards Jonathan. When I turned to him though, he surprised me. He wore no smug, pleased smirk on his face. No look of accomplishment for finally exacting his revenge. Only a deep, confused frown.

I took pleasure in smacking the frown off his face.

He, in turn, slammed me face first into the wall before slapping me with enough force to send me flying.

I groaned, rolling over on the floor to face Jonathan as he stormed towards me. His eyes were an angry, glowing, red and his face was contorted in fury. I assumed that he had just realized that killing his brother was not what he really wanted to do, but since it was too late now, he was going to take his anger out on me.

I flinched as he took another step closer, backing me into a corner.

And then, his face changed. The anger left it completely and was replaced by a look of utter surprise; he froze in place.

I stared in confusion at Jonathan, when I felt his power over me fade and disappear completely. I was free of his control.

Still, completely freaking confused as to why he would release me, my eyes left his face to glance down. There, in the middle of his chest, was a bloody wooden stake; protruding obscenely. And just like that, Jonathan's appearance hardened until there was nothing left but stone. The stone crumbled into shattered pieces on the floor, and the only one left standing was the person who had ended Jonathan once and for all. Courtney.

My eyes widened in shock as the weight of our situation hit me full blast. Oh My God. We were free! And because of Courtney, no less.

I was up in a flash, and swept the lanky girl up in a powerful hug.

"Courtney, you killed him!" I cheered happily. She was laughing as I released her.

"I know" She said, giving a relieved sigh "It was awesome"

I smirked at her, letting my eyes wander to the two people Jonathan's death would affect the most.

Nathaniel, didn't look nearly as haggard as he did before, but the sadness was still in his eyes. And Damon, he just looked resigned. My thoughts traveled back to Gabriel, and I stared I fixed a hard stare on Damon.

"You did not kill him" I said sternly "Gabriel knew what he was doing. He knew Jonathan better than any of us- and he _knew_ that the only way for Jonathan to be distracted enough to let down his guard, was for one of us to die."

"Yeah, so the son of a bitch let me bear the guilt of killing my own brother" Damon snapped.

"No, he would be grateful for what you did. You were brave, and did what he wished even though you didn't want to. He wasn't happy here, Damon, don't you understand that?" Nathaniel said softly. Damon got to his feet and took two threatening steps towards us, his eyes turning red.

"Stop. Just stop it now- both of you. I don't want your pity, and I don't want your sympathy. It's over and done with now, so lets just forget about it"

"Past stays in the past and all that jazz" Courtney muttered. Damon turned to her, raising an appreciative eyebrow, before turning hard, icy eyes back on me and Nathaniel.

"Exactly" He growled at us.

I raised my hands in surrender, giving a nonchalant shrug "Fine, whatever you say. But if you ever want to talk-"

"_Chloe_" Damon snarled, warning me to shut up. I smirked.

"That doesn't scare me now, idiot. I'm a vampire too"

"Vampires can still die. As you've witnessed tonight" Damon said darkly, a wicked grin on his face.

I narrowed my eyes, and turned to see Nathaniel helping Peter to his feet.

"Can we get out of here now?" Nathaniel asked.

"Sounds like a plan" I said, grinning as I pulled Damon into a kiss.

He pulled away, a mischievous look on his face.

"You know, maybe you and I could take a detour on the way back" He murmured against my ear. "You being a newborn and all could make the staff a little anxious."

I raised my eyebrows "What did you have in mind?" I asked curiously.

"A weekend in Venice, perhaps. The people of Italy taste delicious"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the smile.

"We're in" Nathaniel said quickly, speaking for both Peter and him. Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother, as Courtney chimed in:

"I'm coming too"

Damon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

"Fine" He growled. "We'll all go. But only Chloe and I will be staying permanently"

My eyebrows rose to my hairline "Is this you, trying to ask me to move in with you?"

"Why on earth would I do that? You're already living with me. This is me saying that we're moving. I'm sick of that blasted castle. I was thinking of a nice, humble, 22 bedroom mega-mansion along the Italian countryside"

I snorted.

"That doesn't sound half bad" Nathaniel muttered to himself.

"No copying" Damon snapped, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Wouldn't dream of it" Nathaniel replied "Now can we go?"

"Yep"

"Let's get the hell out of here already"

"Agreed"

As we ran from the cottage, Courtney opting to ride on Peter's back, I couldn't help but glance towards the north. I didn't want to stare at that place, where Jonathan had tortured me, and killed his own brother. I didn't want to remember how Gabriel died, but how he lived. I wanted to make the best of the new life I had, to preserve the good memories I had- and forget about the bad.

And, somehow, looking out at the glowing sun over the green valley, I had hope.

Hope that this time would be better. Yes, none of us would ever be the same after this experience, but there were also things that wouldn't change.

So, as we ran, I held on to that hope. I held onto the hope that Gabriel was happy wherever he was. And the hope that one day, I'd find that kind of happiness here on earth.

Right now, with my hand in Damon's, the odds of that happening were looking pretty good.

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**_A/N: Thanks for reading guys! I appreciate it more than you know. Now, if you're puzzled for something new to read- go check out my other stuff! lol. And don't forget to review!_**

**_Love you all,_**

**_- Swan's Catastrophe_**


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